Tétouan from the Terrace of Cohen’s House, Morocco

Roberts made this panoramic view during his first visit to North Africa in 1833. Shortly after leaving Spain and landing in Tangiers, he wrote to a friend that he was "indeed in a new world." After arriving in Tetouan, thirty-five miles southeast, he discovered that he should have registered in advance with the local Muslim authorities. Fortunately, a connection within the local Sephardic Jewish community offered him protection and a place to stay. During the eight days Roberts spent with the Cohens, he made a series of drawings, four of which would later be engraved to illustrate Thomas Roscoe’s "Spain and Morocco" (1838). Since Islamic culture proscribed representation, artists would be harassed if they tried to sketch in public without a guard. So, Roberts worked mostly from roof terraces. He here represents figures gathered within a lattice-like structure that supports foliage and is draped with fabric. Since the artist's visit coincided with Passover, the musicians may be performing for a related celebration.