Saada, the Wife of Abraham Ben-Chimol, and Préciada, One of Their Daughters
1832
Medium
Watercolor over graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
8-3/4 x 6-3/8 in. (22.2 x 16.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971
Accession Number
1972.118.210
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1832, during his transformative journey to Morocco as part of a French diplomatic mission, Eugèneacroix, the preeminent French Romantic artist, this intimate watercolor portrait. Titled *Saada, the Wife Abraham Ben-Chimol and Préciada, of Their Daughters*, it captures a tender mother-daughter moment amid the vibrant North African culture that profoundly influenced Delacroix's work. Staying with the Jewish merchant Abraham Ben-Chimol in Tangier, Delacroix sketched local life, blending exoticism with acute observation in his signature Romantic style—emphasizing emotion, color, and exotic subj...
About the Artist
Eugène Delacroix · 1798–1863
Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) stands as the defining figure of French Romanticism and a pivotal bridge to modernism. Born in Charenton-Saint-Maurice near Paris, he came from distinguished lineage—his mother descended from the prestigious Oeben-Riesener furniture dynasty, while persistent speculation suggested the statesman Talleyrand may have been his biological father, a theory supported by physic...