Iskander Bey and His Servant

John Frederick Lewis|Iskandar Bey (Mohamed el Mahdy)

ca. 1848 · Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over graphite · Drawings and Prints

This steely-eyed boy dressed in ceremonial Albanian military uniform was the son of Sulayman Pasha al-Faransawi. The latter had been born in France as Octave-Joseph-Anthelme Sève, served under Napoleon, then moved to Egypt to help modernize its army. He eventually converted to Islam, changed his name, and married a Greek woman. This portrait of their son communicates the family’s status at the top of Egyptian society; the boy, attended by a Nubian holding a rifle, sits ramrod straight and prepares to draw his sword. Lewis reached Egypt in 1841 and remained for nearly a decade to record the region’s dress, architecture, and customs. An earlier version of this portrait, inscribed 1848, shows the attendant with a horsehair whisk instead of a peacock-feather fan.

Artist

John Frederick Lewis|Iskandar Bey (Mohamed el Mahdy)

Date

ca. 1848

Medium

Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over graphite

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019