This finely worked drawing depicts an Arnaut, an Albanian mercenary soldier in
Ottoman service, instantly recognisable in his pleated fustanella,
close-fitting jacket, and turban. The figure holds a long dagger and pistol
across his body, his stance relaxed yet composed, evoking the dual qualities of
elegance and latent force that Gérôme so admired in these subjects.

Although the exact painting for which this drawing was prepared remains unidentified,
Gérôme employed Arnaut figures frequently throughout his career, both as
protagonists in independent compositions and as stock characters within larger
Orientalist scenes. Works such as Arnaut Smoking (fig. 1) and Arnaut
Blowing Smoke at the Nose of his Dog (fig. 2) demonstrate his enduring
fascination with these professional soldiers, who embodied for him a blend of
exotic costume, martial presence and studied repose.

The drawing demonstrates Gérôme’s characteristic precision at the preparatory
stage. The fall of the pleated skirt, the folds of the jacket and the angled
tilt of the head are all rendered with clarity and economy of line, leaving
shading and tonal depth largely aside in favour of compositional definition.
Such studies allowed Gérôme to build a repertoire of poses and costumes which
he could adapt fluidly across multiple paintings.

Whether intended for a specific painting or serving as part of this broader stock of
models, the sheet testifies to Gérôme’s sustained interest in the Arnaut as a
symbolic figure, a mercenary both familiar within the Ottoman world and
alluringly foreign to European audiences of the later 19th century.