Study for "The Sultan of Morocco and His Entourage"

Study for "The Sultan of Morocco and His Entourage" by Eugène Delacroix is a significant graphite drawing executed between 1850 and 1860. This preparatory work captures the artist’s intense focus on composition and dynamic arrangement, undertaken as he planned one of his major oil canvases depicting North African themes. Delacroix’s lifelong engagement with Orientalism, sparked by his formative 1832 diplomatic journey to Morocco, defined the cultural and political framework of this piece, which revisits the grand processions he witnessed.

The medium of graphite allowed Delacroix to rapidly block out the central figures, using sharp, energetic lines characteristic of detailed preparatory sketches. The composition centers on the hierarchical display of power, with the king or sultan likely positioned among his mounted soldiers. The work highlights the powerful forms and posture of the horses, which were central to the eventual finished painting, The Sultan of Morocco and His Entourage. This careful study of movement and military bearing illustrates the artist’s working methods during his later career, where he often revisited and refined compositions based on his extensive memory and earlier travel sketches.

This drawing is an important example of French Romanticism and is part of the permanent collection of drawings housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The piece not only documents Delacroix’s process but also provides a window into 19th-century European artistic fascination with exoticized cultures. As an artwork created prior to 1928, this Delacroix study, along with derived images and high-quality prints, is often treated as being within the public domain, ensuring broad accessibility for art history research and appreciation.