On the Way between Old and New Cairo, Citadel Mosque of Mohammed Ali, and Tombs of the Mamelukes

Tiffany employed fine brushwork to render the textures of stone, fabric, and sand, using a muted palette of ochres, pinks, and soft blues to convey atmospheric haze. Light filters diffusely across the scene, unifying the foreground figures with the distant architecture. The oil medium allows subtle gradations in tone, enhancing the sense of heat and distance without sharp contrasts.

Created during Tiffany’s travels in the Middle East, the painting was later acquired by the Brooklyn Museum, where it remains in the collection. It belongs to a series of works from his 1870s journey, which influenced his later decorative designs. The piece was not widely exhibited in his lifetime but has been studied for its ethnographic and topographical detail.

Tiffany painted this during a period when Western artists increasingly traveled to North Africa and the Levant, drawn by romanticized visions of the Orient. Unlike many contemporaries, he avoided exoticizing the scene, instead recording architectural forms and human activity with observational precision. His approach aligns with emerging trends in plein air and documentary realism.

Though Tiffany is better known for his glasswork, this painting reveals his early commitment to capturing place through careful observation. It stands as a rare example of his figurative landscape work and offers insight into his formative years before he turned to decorative arts. The painting contributes to understanding how American artists engaged with non-Western environments in the 19th century.