'Moroccan Tambourine Girl', Orientalist painting by Burgess

John Bagnold Burgess has been famed since his own day for his Orientalist portrayals of subjects derived from his numerous visits to Spain and North Africa. After his first visit to Spain in 1858, Burgess travelled to North Africa, particularly Morocco, and themes and subjects taken from these visits formed the basis for much of his later painting.

The present work depicts a young girl wearing a vibrantly coloured Moroccan kaftan. She holds a tambourine in her right hand, within which is placed one pink rose. She glances directly at the artist—and thus us—in a bewitching manner. The painterly style is fluid, with expressive strokes of pure colour used to render the details of the kaftan, the girl’s white clothing, and the background architectural details.

The painting, which is set within a giltwood frame, is signed, dated, and situated lower right ‘J. B. Burgess / 1876 / Tangiers’.

Frame: Height 49cm, width 38cm, depth 4cm
Canvas: Height 42.5cm, width 31cm, depth 1.5cm