Title
A Study of an Oriental ManDate1868
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
60 x 49 cm
Signedlower centre: R. Fox
Credit LinePurchased, 1976
Object numberNGI.4187
Label TextIn 1850, Fox left Dublin for London, remaining for almost two decades, but he is not known to have travelled further afield. This picture can therefore be read as a speculative response to Orientalist art, which remained popular in Europe throughout the nineteenth century. Fox exhibited several similar studies bearing generic titles like Head of Hindoo, An East Indian, and Head of an Arab, and relied, it seems, on the ‘exoticism’ rather than accuracy of the costume. This figure, for example, whose ethnicity is unknown, wears attire that appears Balkan or Albanian in origin.