Sand with Mountain Line. Morocco
Ca. 1860. Watercolour, Pencil strokes on white paper.Not on display
The Provincial Council of Barcelona sent Fortuny to Morocco to compile graphic information for subsequent paintings on the most notable achievements in the Spanish-Moroccan War, in which Catalan volunteer troops were fighting. In Morocco from February 1860, Fortuny followed the campaign, witnessing and subsequently painting The Battle of Wad-Ras. At the same time he was also notably attracted by local customs and peoples. He returned in 1862 and made numerous sketches in preparation for The Battle of Tétouan, again for the Provincial Council, a large-format work that remained unfinished. The discovery of North Africa’s bare, sweeping spaces, its intense light and dazzling colour produced a radical change in Fortuny’s painting. This is evident in both his works painted from life and those subsequently executed in the studio from sketches, his memory and his imagination.
