They were entranced, and entrancing: celebrants of the Aissawa sect of Sufi Islam on a ritual pilgrimage through the streets of Tangier, in Morocco. Eugène Delacroix saw them in 1832 while traveling with the French ambassador, the Count de Mornay, who was negotiating a treaty of friendship with the sultan of Morocco. The pilgrims were eating glass and biting their own arms, among other acts of self-abuse, to draw attention to their religion. Vividly colored and vigorously brushed, Delacroix’s masterpiece captured the commotion, even though it was painted from memory five years later—a memory not easily forgotten.
Delacroix inspired August Renoir’s 1881 journey to North Africa in search of similar exoticism. This painting from Algiers shows he found it: a lively Sufi ritual filled with music and dancing. The palette is similar, too, with bright colors enhanced by stark Mediterranean light.
The robed man on horseback is no mere observer: he’s a sultan, or ruler, identified by his green flag. With an eye on the pilgrimage, he’s prepared to maintain a semblance of order amidst the chaos.
The women in this watercolor are Saada and Préciada, the wife and daughter, respectively, of Abraham Ben-Chimol, the Jewish interpreter assigned to the delegation. Delacroix had painted them in their home and later incorporated elements of their clothing into this painting.
Delacroix’s sketches include several studies of the convulsionists in motion, and one of the poses made it into the final painting.
Count de Mornay later recalled that he and Delacroix had witnessed the pilgrimage from an attic hideaway, peeking through a boarded-up window while lying flat on their stomachs. As Europeans, he said, they were afraid they’d be killed if seen watching.