Afternoon in the Harem
This work, which depicts two idle members of a harem whiling away an afternoon, is typical of Benjamin-Constant’s distinctly theatrical treatments of Orientalist imagery. It was not the artist’s intention to illustrate a narrative. Rather, the subject is meant to conjure an exotic world like the one evoked by Victor Hugo in his 1828 poem “La sultane favorite”: “The sultan must sultanas have, / As gems must deck the poignard’s hilt.”
Artwork Details
- Title: Afternoon in the Harem
- Artist: Benjamin-Constant (Jean-Joseph-Benjamin Constant) (French, Paris 1845–1902 Paris)
- Date: 1880
- Medium: Oil on wood
- Dimensions: 22 × 14 1/2 in. (55.9 × 36.8 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Kenneth Jay Lane, 2016
- Object Number: N.A.2016.9.1
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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