Title of the painting: Première messe en Kabylie (First mass in Kabylie)

Name of the artist: Horace Vernet

Date: 1854

Description: Father Dom François Régis (1808–1880), Abbot of Notre-Dame de Staouëli, celebrates Mass on the banks of the Oued-Agrioun, southeast of Algiers, on June 14, 1853. Prostrate behind Reverend Father Régis is Father Thomas Aquinas. This episode takes place at the conclusion of the Babors campaign led by Marshal Randon. In a letter to Father Régis dated May 25, 1854, Horace Vernet comments on his work: ‘The moment I chose is that of the Elevation, when the cannon replaced the bell, and the smoke of the gunpowder, the incense.

Visual description: A historical oil painting by Horace Vernet depicting the “First Mass in Kabylia” celebrated in the Algerian mountains. The central figure is a priest elevating the Host at a makeshift field altar adorned with a rough wooden cross. He is surrounded by kneeling French soldiers, specifically Zouaves in their distinctive uniforms, and officers. In the foreground, local Kabyle people watch the ceremony, while a wounded soldier is tended to on the right. The background features rugged mountain peaks and the smoke of a military encampment.

License: Public Domain / See here

Source: Wikimedia