Elizabeth Nourse: Tunisia and Algiers

"Head of an Algerian" by Elizabeth Nourse

"In the winter of 1897, Elizabeth and Louise Nourse were able to sublet their apartment and embark on an adventurous trip to Tunisia, which Elizabeth called 'the land of sunshine and flowers and lovely Arabs.' Always fascinated by native costumes and crafts, the artist hired an Arab guide to go out with her each day while she made many sketches and watercolors of Bedouins. She also painted a series of small portraits in oil on board, which she later exhibited at the Societe des Orientalistes at the Grand Palais in 1904 and 1906.

These were far outshone, however, by her virtuoso performance in 'Head of an Algerian,' a portrait of richly contrasting colors and textures probably painted while the artist was on a side trip to Biskra, Algeria. The French interest in their newly acquired African colonies reinforced the vogue for orientalisme begun earlier in the century, and Nourse gave way to the exotic appeal of her subject.

Nourse's three-month sojourn in North Africa undoubtedly reinforced her inclination to adopt a brighter palette. From this time on she tended to use more vivid greens, blues, and violets in her landscapes and showed a preference for lighter shades of blue, lavender and rose in her other oil paintings."

To be continued 

(Excerpts from "Cincinnati Societaire" by Mary Alice Heekin Burke in "Elizabeth Nourse, 1859-1938: A Salon Career.")