We have already discussed in this space the role played by the Arab World Institute in Paris. Situated at the southern edge of the legendary Latin Quarter neighbourhood, just across the River Seine and facing the Notre Dame cathedral, the establishment devotes its activities to the culture of Arab countries and their influence on the history of France.

But the current exhibition is a surprise to many art lovers, even those familiar with the institute’s usual exploits!

Born in Paris in 1861 in a well-to-do family, the young Etienne Dinet was inspired by his father’s reputation as one of the leading advocates of the country and was enthusiastically following his own law studies, sticking to the family tradition.

Then, all of a sudden, a visit to an art exhibition turned everything upside down for him and, much to the disappointment of his father, he gave up his legal ambitions by joining the French School of Fine Arts and participating, successfully at age 21, in the Salon de Paris art competitions, winning many prizes.

A surprising Paris exhibition shines a spotlight on a French painter who became a part of Algeria

At that point, Etienne Dinet’s inspirations initially concentrated on the works of the French masters of realism during the era, such as Jean-François Millet and Jules Bastien-Lepage, most of their paintings concentrating on the rays of light along vast landscapes.

Then something unexpected happened!

In the year 1884, one of Etienne’s closest friends, an entomologist going to Algeria in search of a rare species of insects, invited him to come along on a visit to this country totally unknown to him. The month-long trip was followed by another, then another and some more. Etienne was absolutely charmed by Algeria, its hilly deserts and the animals and people who lived in and around them.

From then on, he would make regular excursions to Algeria, painting landscapes with shepherds and scenes of small towns and the people living and working there.

Those were the early days of photography and, when the weather turned too hot and unbearable to stay painting in the desert, Etienne would shoot a huge number of images using a camera, in order to continue painting the scenes once back in Paris.

This went on until 1901, when he decided to settle down permanently in Algeria and, for this purpose, bought a property in the Bou-Saâda oasis. The vast and highly placed rooftop terrace of the house allowed him to watch not only the desert and the sandy hills, but also a gushing river with vegetation around it and, most of all, the local inhabitants and their families working and living their lives.

In the words of the French art critic Jean Lavergeat: “Etienne Dinet observed the daily lives of the Algerians as if cutting out fragments of reality, piece by piece, then setting them down on his canvases. The sensitivities visible in his paintings concentrate simply, but most effectively, on the expressions, gestures as well as on the activities and attires of his subjects.”

As he was now permanently living in an Arab country, the Muslim faith began occupying an important place, not only on the scenes and characters of his works, but on his own consciousness as well. He converted to Islam in 1913, changing his name to Etienne Dinet Nasreddine.

The final homage to his new faith was a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1929, shortly before his death a few months later. He was buried, according to his own wishes, in Bou-Saâda’s Muslim cemetery and was soon acknowledged by the French government as an essential force in the process of developing a friendly relationship between France and Algeria.

 ‘Etienne Dinet Nasreddine, His Life & Adventures’ is on display at the Arab World Institute in Paris till June 9, 2024.

The writer is an art critic based in Paris. He can be reached at zafmasud@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, March 3rd, 2024