The Answer

Painted during Deutsch's first trip to Egypt in 1883, The Answer is a masterpiece of observation and meticulous execution. In order to communicate even the most microscopic of detail, Deutsch paints with a hair line brush and strives to include every single thread and every single link of chain mail. His influences for the fantastical architecture are mainly from Egypt and Damascus, yet his eclectic compilation of the individual objects and details is truly Ottoman. Based on a smaller study for the present work we can trace the visual alterations Deutsch has made in this carefully considered composition. He changed the pattern of the marble floor tiles in order to lighten up its hue. In the study black and white tiles are laid down like a chessboard making an even ratio between the two colours. In the present composition, smaller black tiles are fitted between the corners of four larger white tiles - a ratio of one black tile to four white tiles - which creates a greater sense of light. On the other hand, in both compositions, Deutsch has used the exact same blue and white tiles to cover the wall behind the servant. These 17th Century Syrian tiles are most likely from Damascus, yet in actuality they would have been laid down differently than depicted here. Ceramic tiles from Iznik, Diyarbakir and Damascus all depict flower scrolls, which are symbols in Islam for intellectual growth and God's continuous presence in nature. Although large groupings of such scrolls produced by four, six or eight tiles were repeated throughout even larger designs, individual tiles were not repeated in purely geometric patterns. The tile grouping, therefore, appears to be based on a single tile that might have been in his private collection.

The painting is further enriched by numerous objects such as the 18th Century Turkish tombak ewer and basin resting on a 19th Century Syrian mother-of-pearl table with a 19th Century Indo-Persian shield resting against it. The Chieftain wears a beaded Balkan yatagan decorated with chalcedonies strapped tightly in his dusty rose sash, which he wears on an Ottoman gold and silver threaded silk robe (aba) topping a white striped cloak (jubba). An elegant cape is the brilliant finish to this fine combination of fabrics, whose light brown stripes match the colour of the leather babouches. The servant in the back, holding an Arabian sword, wears an Indo-Persian arm protector and a Turkish dagger that is strapped in his green sash.