Tuareg on his dromedary dragging a prisoner - Alfred COUVERCHEL (1834 - 18

Alfred COUVERCHEL (1834 - 1867)
Tuareg on his dromedary dragging a prisoner
Oil on canvas
61 x 50 cm
Circa 1866

Provenance:
French Private Collection

Bibliography:
Le Monde illustré, 1857, page 111
Le Figaro, Friday, September 6, 1867, “Hier - Aujourd'hui - Demain” (“Yesterday - Today
- Tomorrow”)
Tour du monde, Volume 8, 1862, “Voyage dans le Sahara algérien, de Géryville à
Ouargla” (Journey in the Algerian Sahara, from Géryville to Ouargla)

Alfred COUVERCHEL (1834-1867) painted Tuareg on his dromedary dragging a prisoner in 1866. This Arab fighter is a Tuareg as he regularly encountered them during his African travels, particularly in Algeria. The artist's orientalist romanticism was inspired by his master, Horace VERNET (1789-1823), of whom he was a favorite pupil. Indeed, Couverchel's master used to invite him on his trips to Africa and the Orient, and their favorite subject was the desert, which both painters painted “quickly and easily”.

The composition of this work is characteristic of Couverchel and recalls one of his
masterpieces, “La prise du Chérif Mohammed Ben-Abdallah”, painted in 1863 and currently on display at the Musée National d'El-Djazaïr. The painting is the result of a government mission in 1861, during which the artist explored the Ouargla oases. Like Eugène DELACROIX (1798-1823), Couverchel was also influenced by the recent conquests of Algeria, begun on June 14, 1830 by the African Army.

The upper part of the fighter's face shows a visible repentance. This peculiarity reveals Couverchel's path in his depiction of the Tuareg's movement, as evidenced by the preparatory drawing that was mentioned and illustrated in the journal Le Tour du monde, Volume 8, of the article published in 1862 “Voyage dans le Sahara algérien, de Géryville à Ouargla” written by M. le commandant V. Colomieu. Couverchel offers us a striking duality between the tranquility of the landscape and the cruelty of the scene.

The inscription “Versailles exhibition” on the back of the painting shows that this work was most probably exhibited at the Château de Versailles museum.