Adolphe MONTICELLI (1824-1886). A wedding in North Africa. Oil on panel signed lower right. Height : 40 cm - Width : 62 cm Provenance: Public auction sale of June 22, 1987, by Maître Guy Loudmer, Paris, under n°175. Note: a leading artist from Marseilles, Adolphe Monticelli occupies a major place in 19th-century French painting. His work, which includes both portraits and landscapes, is characterized by a highly personal treatment of light intense, contrasting colors. He drew his inspiration in particular from the legacy of Eugène Delacroix and the careful study of the masters conserved in the Louvre. His fame, particularly marked abroad, owes much to the admiration of Vincent van Gogh, who saw him as an essential source of inspiration, as evidenced by his letters to his brother Theo van Gogh. This painting is one of the artist's favorite themes: scenes of oriental harems. Although Monticelli never traveled to the Orient, he drew on the accounts and impressions of several Marseilles painters, including Fabius Brest, Alexandre Jean-Baptiste Brun and Alfred Chataud. We would like to thank Marc Stammegna for confirming the authenticity of this work.