Artwork
Tartars at Prayer
Tartars at Prayer is a drawing by the Romanticist artist Auguste Raffet. It dates from 1837 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Tartars at Prayer is a 1837 drawing by Auguste Raffet, a French illustrator and lithographer. The work is part of The Cleveland Museum of Art's collection.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing depicts a group of Tartar men engaged in prayer on rocky terrain under a stormy sky. Their upturned faces and clasped hands convey a sense of reverence and concern.
Technique & Style
Raffet employed chiaroscuro, using strong contrasts of light and shadow to create a dramatic effect. The light highlights the men's clothing and facial expressions, lending a sense of authenticity to the scene.
History & Provenance
Raffet, trained under Nicolas Toussaint Charlet, created the work without having traveled to Central Asia, instead relying on secondary sources and his imagination.
Artist & collection
Artist
Denis Auguste Marie Raffet (2 March 1804 – 16 February 1860) was a French illustrator and lithographer. He was a student of Nicolas Toussaint Charlet, and was a retrospective painter of the Empire.
A group of figures in Eastern dress, Turkey
Chinese game players on a mat
Scene of the Tribunal (The Verdict)
Drawing of the House of Sheik Sadat, Cairo
Three men in a workshop producing silver gilt wire
Untitled
Exterior of the Mosque Sultan Hassan, Cairo
A Nautch, Cawnpoor
7 seated men making bidis (cigarettes)
Two drawings of groups of Chinese figures
A mosque on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, Bangladesh
The Court of the Lions, Alhambra