Jewish Musicians of Mogador

When Delacroix showed this at the Salon of 1847, his journey to Morocco was already 15 years in the past. The French diplomatic mission he travelled with in 1832 had been received by the sultan, and to entertain the visitors the sultan had sent for Jewish musicians from Mogador, the Atlantic port now called Essaouira. Delacroix himself never went to Mogador. What he painted is a quiet moment among the players. One sits on the floor with a stringed instrument across his lap, another holds up a small drum, and a young woman leans on a painted chest at their backs, her head resting on her hand, listening. The wall is bare except for a red bag hanging from a nail and a jug on a shelf high in the corner.