Sketches from life and photographs revive now long-forgotten peaceful atmospheres: farm work, village streets, domestic animals, everyday utensils, ordinary attire, etc.

“Grace avenges itself on our science”: thus did Delacroix, in his Moroccan notes of 1832, deplore the mediocre appearance of Europeans, compared to that of the populations he was discovering, draped in their ample, ancient garments.

Anthropological research, photographs, drawings and watercolours...