Artwork
Harem Scene
Harem Scene is an oil painting by the Orientalist artist Henry Siddons Mowbray. It dates from 1892 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
9 cm) renders these subjects in an intimate format suited to private contemplation, and the work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Harem Scene by Henry Siddons Mowbray, painted in 1884, depicts an interior of a harem populated by women, with a musical instrument also present in the composition. According to cataloguing of the work, the painting additionally represents the theme of sleep, situating the figures in a state of rest within the secluded space. The combination of these motifs, women, music, and slumber, reflects the late nineteenth-century European fascination with the harem as an imagined realm of leisure, sensuality, and orientalist reverie, in which musical performance and repose are recurring visual cues.
The small-scale oil on canvas (43.2 by 55.9 cm) renders these subjects in an intimate format suited to private contemplation, and the work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Technique & Style
Harem Scene is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard support for late nineteenth-century academic painting. The work is relatively modest in scale, measuring 43.2 cm in height by 55.9 cm in width, with the horizontal orientation suiting the interior subject matter. The medium of oil allows for the layered handling typical of Mowbray's training, supporting detailed rendering of the figures, textiles, and musical instruments within the harem setting.
The canvas support provides a stable ground for the painted composition, which depicts women and a sleeping figure amid the accoutrements of an enclosed domestic space.
History & Provenance
The painting is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, with the accession number 43.2 × 55.9 cm. It has been exhibited as part of the museum’s collection holdings; the work entered the collection in 1884, the year of its creation.
Overview
Henry Siddons Mowbray's 1892 oil painting, Harem Scene, exemplifies the Orientalist movement prevalent in late 19th-century art. This work depicts an intimate interior featuring several women, characteristic of the period's fascination with imagined scenes from the Middle East and North Africa. The American artist, known for his academic training, created this piece, which is now part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, reflecting a common artistic trend of its era.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Henry Siddons Mowbray (August 5, 1858 – 1928) was an American artist. He executed various painting commissions for J.P. Morgan, F.W. Vanderbilt, and other clients. He served as director of the American Academy in Rome from 1902 to 1904.
