The Sentinel at the Sultan’s Tomb

Jean-Léon Gérôme carefully depicted each colorful flag atop a sultan’s tomb as well as the varied gestures of worshippers in prayer. The artist placed his signature on a tablet at the foot of the tomb. This constructed and largely invented image was based on Gérôme’s memories of mausoleums that he had visited in Bursa, a town in Turkey. Gérôme traveled often to Turkey, where he made numerous sketches of historic architecture that informed his work.