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Visions of the harem Of all the British artists who went east in the 19th century, for Ahdaf Soueif, only John Frederick Lewis looked beyond colonial stereotypes to capture its true spirit. Cairo gave him the colours, light and architecture to become a great painter Saturday July 5, 2008 The Guardian Reciprocal relationship ... El Khan Khalil, Cairo The Carpet Seller by John Frederick Lewis (1860) A postcard on my mantelpiece shows two men and a woman strolling through a museum. Their backs towards us, they pause for a moment to contemplate a painting. The men are in white North African robes, the woman is in a long skirt with a jumper slung over her shoulders. In her left hand she holds what could be a plan of the museum. The title of the postcard is "Africains au Louvre devant Les Femmes d'Alger dans leur appartement". Even... [read full story]
