A Cavalcade of Arabs

Alberto Pasini 1826 - 1899

Summary

A cavalcade of horsemen is escorting dignitaries, concealed within brightly coloured canopies, through a narrow and treacherous mountain pass. Majestic peaks rise in front of them under a cloudy blue sky. The dynamic riders with bright clothes, hats and kaffiyehs present a contrast to the barren, dusty landscape through which they are moving. The dust raised by the animals obscures the colours of those at the head of the procession. Pasini studied at the Academy of Fine Art at Parma. After taking part in the First Italian War of Independence (1848-1849), he went to Paris to study under the lithographer Eugenio Ciceri (1813-1890). Pasini made several expeditions to the Orient and the Mediterranean, after which he left Paris at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War and went to live in Cavoretto, in the countryside near Turin. There he drew on his large collection of sketches from his travels to create Orientalist and Venetian genre scenes with a rich colour palette, which found a ready market. Orientalist scenes form a major part of his oeuvre.