Enrico Tarenghi

After Napoleon's campaign in Egypt (1798-1801), an increasing interest in the culture of the Middle East arose in Europe in the 19th century. Not only countries such as England and France produced prominent orientalist artists. The Italian artist Enrico Tarenghi (1848-1938) also visited the Middle East around 1880. Tarenghi was born and lived in Rome. He studied in the Academy of St Luke in Rome in the early 1860s. Together with fellow orientalist Filippo Bartolini Enrico Tarenghi was a members of the so-called Simoni group. In his beautifully worked watercolors, he knew how to depict the mysterious Middle-Eastern world. Works such as "The Return from Work" and "Prayer by Muslims" were exhibited in Turin in 1880, in Milan in 1881, and in Rome in 1883. Enrico Tarenghi has a special interest in the devotional prayer of the faithful in the mosque. This watercolor must have been created around 1880-1882. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam also has a watercolor by Tarenghi in its collection. This watercolor is entitled "A Praying Muslim, 1882" and it shows one of the four believers also featured in this watercolor.