Lot Essay
A variant, painted in tempera, was illustrated in La Vie de Mohammed, p. 21, with the title Et Tekbir ou la Glorification (nocturne).
According to L. Thornton, The Orientalists Painter-Travellers, 1828-1908, Paris, 1983, p. 206, Dinet's work is ranked amongst the most sought after Orientalist painters.
Dinet's involvement and fascination with Algeria spanned a period of 45 years, where he painted all aspects of life during that time. In 1913, when this picture was painted, Dinet converted to the Muslim faith. The sincerity of his conversion would help, he wrote, 'In bringing about Franco-Muslim mutual understanding, a matter that is vital for Algeria's future'.
According to Ali Ali-Khodja, the nephew of Mohammed Racim (a close friend) Dinet supported the claim for equal rights for Algerians and sought to show through his paintings a philosophical and moral approach to Algerian civilisation and to the mysticism of Islam. (L. Thornton, op. cit., p. 206).
According to L. Thornton, The Orientalists Painter-Travellers, 1828-1908, Paris, 1983, p. 206, Dinet's work is ranked amongst the most sought after Orientalist painters.
Dinet's involvement and fascination with Algeria spanned a period of 45 years, where he painted all aspects of life during that time. In 1913, when this picture was painted, Dinet converted to the Muslim faith. The sincerity of his conversion would help, he wrote, 'In bringing about Franco-Muslim mutual understanding, a matter that is vital for Algeria's future'.
According to Ali Ali-Khodja, the nephew of Mohammed Racim (a close friend) Dinet supported the claim for equal rights for Algerians and sought to show through his paintings a philosophical and moral approach to Algerian civilisation and to the mysticism of Islam. (L. Thornton, op. cit., p. 206).