Zonaro under the patronage of the Sultan was able to explore every corner of Istanbul undisturbed. He painted city views, markets, public ceremonies and religious festivals that would have otherwise been forbidden to him by Islamic law. The subject of the present work, The Tenth of Muharram, occupied Zonaro as early as March 1899, when he did his first studies at the Rufaiyah dervish lodge in Karacaahmet. Muharram is the first month of the Islamic Calendar and the tenth of the month is an important date for it is the anniversary of the ‘Karbala incident’. The Tenth of Muharram became an annual holy day of public mourning during which passion plays are enacted.
In 1909 Zonaro painted the largest version of this subject. The work measures 190 by 300cm and was on display at the Istanbul Modern Art Museum. It was commissioned by Abdül Hamid II and was intended as a gift to Razek Han, the Shiite leader. Another large version painted in the same year (although executed in pastel) was sold by Sotheby’s, 18 June 2008, lot 58. Zonaro fills each version with dramatic light and shadow and captures the passion and reverence displayed by the attendees.
