3-002-632 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Hindu Snake Charmers, 1869. Mariano Fortuny accompanied General Prim's military expedition to Morocco in 1860. Following the defeat of the Moroccan army at the battle of Tétouan, Spain controlled a portion of the western Sahara until 1976. On a number of occasions, Fortuny returned to North Africa, where the clarity of the atmosphere and the intensity of the sunlight profoundly influenced him. In this scene, set outdoors at twilight, a turbaned Indian mesmerizes a cobra with a reed. The artist, a collector of Islamic decorative arts, includes such accessories as a copper bowl, luster plate, and saddle.