Arabs of Oran 1833

Eugène Delacroix created this print, Arabs of Oran, using etching techniques. The artwork emerges from a period marked by French colonial expansion in North Africa. It presents a scene with two men in Arab dress resting, their firearms beside them, with mounted figures in the background. Delacroix himself visited French North Africa and became known for his Orientalist paintings. His work reflects a European fascination with, and often a romanticized view of, the “Orient.” How might we consider the gaze of the artist and the representation of the Arab figures within the context of colonial power dynamics? Do the figures appear as noble and dignified, or are they reduced to exoticized subjects? The emotional undercurrent of this work lies in this tension between the artist’s aesthetic appreciation and the unequal power relations of the time.