The Art Bulletin

Watteau’s Les charmes de la vie, a fête galante that is typical of its genre in its depiction of a tony outdoor gathering, can be read as a commentary on the ways that nature—particularly as manifested in animals, children, and Africans—was sophisticated and aestheticized by and for wealthy Parisians. The relative success of such ventures seems called into question by certain of Les charmes’s motifs, including the flustered musician at its center who is identified as a stand-in for Watteau—a mediator, or “middleman,” poised between the realms of culture and nature.

Thirteen years after visiting North Africa, Eugène Delacroix exhibited the monumental Sultan of Morocco and His Entourage at the Salon of 1845. In 1844, Franco-Moroccan relations had degenerated—briefly but decisively—to the point of warfare. Though inspired by this conflict, Delacroix ignored its implications, manipulating his painting at multiple levels to create a powerful image of Moroccan sovereignty. The assertive message of his picture placed it at odds with the triumphalist paintings of French domination over North Africa exhibited alongside it at the Salon, confirming the artist's willingness to challenge the status quo.