Prosper Marilhat (1811-1947) was a reknown painter of Orientalism, whose growing career was cut short by illness at the age of 36. One of the early French visitors to North Africa and Egypt in the 1830s, Marilhat’s paintings exposed the French public to the beauty of Africa. In May 1831, Marilhat was invited by Charles von Hügel to join him on his famous exposition to India, but left the exposition to remain in Alexandria, Egypt. Over the following months, from October 1831 to May 1833, he completed ten albums of sketches which would form the basis of his later paintings. In 1835, he travelled through Italy and spent 1836 in Provence. He exhibited in all the Paris Salons from 1837 to 1841 as well as at the Salon of 1844. While he specialized in architectural paintings and landscapes, he also painted portraits including one of his friend Théodore Chassériau, which is now in the Louvre.