The Old Blue-Tiled Mosque outside Delhi

Painted in 1885, The Old Blue-Tiled Mosque outside Delhi is a work by Edwin Lord Weeks, now in the collection of Brooklyn Museum, that reflects the artistic concerns of the late 19th century — an era of fundamental transformation in both the methods and purposes of European and American painting. Edwin Lord Weeks was one of the finest American Orientalist painters, spending years traveling through Morocco, Egypt, Persia, and especially India, documenting the architectural splendors and everyday life of the region with both painterly skill and genuine curiosity.

Weeks applied paint with confident, impressionistic strokes that capture the intense light and heat of Indian and Persian settings. His palette is brilliant and sun-saturated — deep ochres, brilliant whites.