Askari

Askari portrays an indigenous Moroccan soldier serving the colonial forces, shown full-length and standing at the centre of the composition. Against a dark, greyish background, he holds a long rifle with both hands in front of what appears to be the entrance to a dungeon. His clothing combines a turban in blue, yellow and red, a white tunic open at the sides, a red sash and red baggy trousers, while his bare arms and the hoop earring add personal detail. Fortuny painted the work during his stay in Morocco, where he had gone as a graphic chronicler of the so-called African War of 1860. The panel stands out for its vibrant, forceful brushwork, with outlines broken by a nervous stroke that gives the figure movement. Rather than a study of individual character, the painting reads as an exploration of type and colour, typical of the Orientalism the artist cultivated. It is held at the Biblioteca Museo Víctor Balaguer, and according to the sources Fortuny gave it to his friend Pedro Bové, who had helped him pay for an exemption from military service.

Painter

Mariano Fortuny Marsal

Date

1860

Medium

oil paint, panel

Dimensions

34 × 26 cm

Museum

Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer, Barcelona

Movement

realism, Orientalism

Genre

portrait

Depicts

military uniform, standing, askari, man

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