Army Reorganization in Morocco, by John Evan Hodgson (1831-1895). 1872 Oil on canvas. 34 1/4 x 60 1/8 inches (76.8 X 152.7 cm). Private collection. Image courtesy of Christie's, shown here by kind permission (right click disabled; not to be reproduced).
This work was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1872, no. 127. It is another example of humour in Hodgson's work with this tongue-in-cheek portrayal of army reorganization as carried out in this backwater town in Morocco involving a motley crew of recruits. Indigenous Moroccan soldiers, nominally at least, were in the service of the Sultan of Morocco. Throughout the nineteenth century Morocco's military and political position was threatened by the colonial powers France and Spain, although Morocco did not become an official French Protectorate until 1912.
The Architect appreciated the diverse character revealed in the heads of the soldiers represented: "Army Reorganization in Morocco (127) by Mr. Hodgson, almost suggestive of caricature, represents a 'scratch' lot of eight or ten fellows in motley garb, whom an angry-looking Bashaw is attempting to convert into soldiers by strict drill. The diverse character of the different heads is highly successful" (236). A critic for The Art Journal was obviously not favourably impressed by this Moroccan attempt at army reorganization: "No. 127, J. E. Hodgson, is a cruel exposé of army reorganization in Morocco; it shows a squad of conscripts turned out for inspection by the officer of the day, a heavy pacha who seems infinitely amused at the sight before him. The men, of whom it is proposed to make soldiers, are dressed in every cut of European uniform, and otherwise form a mixture intensely grotesque" (151).
F. G. Stephens in The Athenaeum admired both the technique employed and the humour in this work:
Close to Mr. Mason's large work [The Harvest Moon], hangs a capital and humorous picture, by Mr. J. E. Hodgson, Army Reorganization in Morocco (127), – a court-yard in blazing sunlight. A rank of recruits is drawn up in the shadow of the buildings; they are being drilled by a short and irascible-looking Frenchman, who has been made an officer, and is clad in white, with silver arms; a negro lad stands behind, in the heat of the sun, and bears his master's big parasol, while the latter scolds and swears at this unpromising squad of "men with muskets": 1. is a drummer, clad like a zouave, apparently an Irishman, and, if he could be trusted, would be good for the work; 2. is a strapping Moor, with one eye, questionable legs, and armed with a tolerable percussion musket; 3. is a negro, robed in white, and armed with a long, "antique" Marocain or Spanish flint-lock, which is furnished with a tassel to its stock: his legs are awkwardly formed, and he seems stupid, but is eager to learn: between these qualities he is bitterly puzzled, and may come to grief; 4. is a rascally, town-bred fellow, with an English marine's coat, cartridge-box, and pipe-clayed belt; he wears sandals of oriental cut and white linen leggings; – 5. is a saturnine fellow, in a policeman's coat; 6. is an old native, wearing a foraging-cap of a Scottish regiment, clapped on the top of an Algerine hood, – he has a Spanish horseman's jacket, and appears to have a wen in his neck, or, may be, he is deaf of one ear; further on is a likely lad, of good native material, the only person who is worth his buttons; worst, but not last, is one who has the air of an escaped convict; – he is long of body, lean, dissipated looking, greedy, and ignorant. These are some of the objects Mr. Hodgson has brought together, and painted with remarkable humour and, from a technical point of view, great success. [566]
The critic of The Saturday Review found the work full of dry humour and caustic satire although treated with "consummate power":
Mr. Hodgson, who bids fair before long to win his way into the Academy, is another painter who appears in unusual force; for dry humour and caustic satire Army Reorganization in Morocco (127) is eminently noteworthy. This droll scene was actually enacted under the eye of the painter; "re-organization" as here depicted to the life, on the African coast confesses to disorder and disorganization. A turbaned Pasha, with his swarthy servant bearing at reverent distance an umbrella as large as a folded tent, reviews with morose rigidity an awkward squad drawn up against a wall. This hastily improvised company is just that dirty offscouring which is apt to be got together in outlining tributaries of the Turkish empire; not two are dressed alike; each man comes to drill in whatever he happens to have on, and one fellow wearing a bandage around his tooth-aching jaws looks less the warrior than the old woman. In delineation of character and artistic treatment the picture shows consummate power; a brilliant passage of sunlight, wherein a mosque glitters, a palm-tree waves, and doves float, is skilfully thrown in to relieve and enliven a subject otherwise sombre and dolorous. Mr. Hodgson's manner is frequently dry to a fault. [663]
Bibliography
19th Century European Art Including Orientalist and Spanish Art. Christie's, London, 2 July 2008, lot 91. https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-5094073.
"The Royal Academy." The Art Journal New Series XI (1 June 1872): 149-56.
"The Royal Academy." The Saturday Review XXXIII (25 May 1872): 662-63.
"The Royal Academy. Pictures." The Architect VII (11 May 1872): 235-37.
Stephens, Frederic George. "Fine Arts. Royal Academy." The Athenaeum No. 2323 (4 May 1872): 563-66.
Created 17 January 2024