Mosque of Sidi Bu Madyan, Tlemcen

Object:
Watercolour
Place of origin:
Tlemcen (painted)
Date:
1881 (painted)
Artist/Maker:
Fabrizi, S (painter (artist))
Materials and Techniques:
Watercolour over pencil, heightened with gum, on stiff paper
Credit Line:
Purchased with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, Shell International and the Friends of the V&A
Museum number:
SD.374
Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level D, case 89, shelf SCX, box 2
Public access description

Fabrizi's skill as a draughtsman and colourist is evident in this watercolour, but very little is known about him. His style and subject matter were clearly similar to those of a group of Italian Orientalist artists working in Rome in the 1870s and 1880s, notably Enrico Tarengi, Gustavo Simoni and Filippo Bartolini. All these artists painted numerous scenes of life in North Africa - in the mosques, the streets and the desert - although some had never been there and based their compositions on photographs.

The mosque adjoins the shrine of Sidi Bu Madyan, a twelfth century holy-man, and was built by the Marinid dynasty in 1339. Fabrizi's view shows clearly the richly carved stucco decoration framing the simple horseshoe arches; through one of these is seen the tiled mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca) and the wooden minbar (pulpit). Fabrizi has captured the moment after the formal prayers when each worshipper makes a personal supplication to Allah, holding his hands out in a gesture to receive His blessing.
Physical description

Watercolour drawing
Marks and inscriptions

Signed, inscribed and dated S. Fabrizi Tlemcen. 1881.
Dimensions

Height: 56.5 cm, Width: 38.5 cm
Object history note

According to Rodney Searight: - `Bt P.S.& N. [Phillips, Son & Neale], Sept.21, 1971 [P227], £24'
Historical context note

The mosque, built in 1339, adjoins the shrine of Sidi Bu Madyan, a twelfth-century holy man. Through the horseshoe arch can be seen the mihrab, with the minbar on the right.
Descriptive line

Watercolour, Mosque of Sidi Bu Madyan, Tlemcen, 1881 by S. Fabrizi
Collection code

Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection