Le consul Joseph Raffo (painting)
Le Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia
Musée d’Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine de Kassar Saïd
1840
Canvas, wood, coloured pigments, gold leaf
Palais de Carthage
Giuseppe Maria Joseph Raffo, the subject of this painting, was born in Tunis in 1795 and is depicted here in full uniform with the air of an important Turkish dignitary. He entered service as a secretary to Bey Hassine, and later served as Tunisia's Minister for Foreign Affairs under his rule as well as that of his successors, despite being a Sardinian subject all the while. He made a fortune by taking over a tuna farm in the Cap Bon region in the form of private concession. This painting is evidence of an active diplomatic relationship between the Palais du Bardo and the European chancelleries.
Bechir Yazidi "Le consul Joseph Raffo (painting) " in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;tn;28;en
Prepared by: Bechir Yazidi
Translation by: Flaminia Baldwin
MWNF Working Number: TN 028
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