Market Day Outside the Walls of Tangiers, Morocco

About this artwork

In 1867 Mark Twain traveled to the Holy Land and chronicled his adventures first in a series of newspaper articles and, in 1869, in book form as Innocents Abroad. His trip and his travelogue incited a wave of interest in visiting the Middle East. Of Morocco, Twain wrote: "We wanted something thoroughly and uncompromisingly foreign --foreign from top to bottom --foreign from center to circumference --foreign inside and outside and all around --nothing anywhere about it to dilute its foreignness -...

Art Historical Context

Louis Comfort Tiffany created *Market Day Outside the Walls of Tangiers, Morocco* in 1873, during a period of growing American fascination with North Africa and the Middle East. Mark Twain’s popular 1869 travelogue *Innocents Abroad* had recently sparked widespread interest in the region, describing Tangier as a place “thoroughly and uncompromisingly foreign.” Tiffany, then an emerging painter before his later fame in stained glass and Art Nouveau design, captured this allure through a lively outdoor scene featuring a bustling market, city walls, and a diverse group of figures. The painting reflects the 19th-century Orientalist trend, in which Western artists documented exotic locales with an eye toward cultural detail and atmosphere. Tiffany’s choice of a market day setting highlights everyday life just beyond Tangier’s historic fortifications, inviting viewers to experience the vibrant colors, textures, and human activity of the scene. Now part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection, the work offers a rare glimpse of Tiffany’s early travels and his skill in translating foreign landscapes into accessible, evocative imagery for American audiences.