Women of Algiers in their Apartment

This work was born from a major aesthetic shock during Delacroix's journey to Morocco and Algiers in 1832. Through the mediation of a port engineer, the artist gained exceptional access to the home of a former corsair. What he discovered there was not the licentious fantasy often depicted by his contemporaries, but a domestic reality imbued with silent dignity and deep melancholy, far from the clichés of Oriental debauchery. Deep analysis reveals that Delacroix does not merely document; he reinvents the myth of the Orient. The women are depicted in a state of weary abandon, suggesting a time that stretches infinitely, marked by waiting and confinement. This vision stands in direct opposition to Ingres' "Turkish Bath," favoring a tactile and atmospheric approach over anatomical linear precision, making these women guardians of a secret, inaccessible world. The explanation of the myth of the Orient in Delacroix's work lies in the search for an ancient truth. For him, Algiers was a living Rome, where the draping of an Arab costume recalled the Roman toga. He did not see these women as exotic curiosities but as timeless figures embodying a form of aesthetic purity preserved from the industrial materialism of 19th-century Europe. It is this quest for the Original that gives the canvas its emotional power. The pictorial technique here is revolutionary. Delacroix uses complementary color contrasts (red and green, blue and orange) to make surfaces vibrate without resorting to deep black. This method, which he called "optical mixing," foreshadows Impressionism. The textures of the hookahs, slippers, and tiles (zelliges) create a sensory richness that invites the viewer to "smell" the scent of orange blossom and cold tobacco. Finally, the work acts as a cultural bridge. Although born from a colonial perspective, it bears witness to a sincere fascination and artistic respect for Algerian culture. Delacroix spent hours taking precise notes on costumes and objects, seeking to restore not a political truth, but a truth of atmosphere that continues to fascinate through its unique blend of documentary realism and Romantic reverie.