n 1882, Renoir took his second trip to Algeria and produced many more studies of this country, which seem at first to signify Renoir’s increasing understanding of Algerian culture, yet out of nearly thirty paintings in his entire Algerian series, seventeen of them ended up as figure paintings (Benjamin, Renoir 81). Prompted by a case of pneumonia which caused him to seek refuge in the warmer climate of Africa, Renoir stayed on la Rue de la Marine, a very Europeanized street in Algiers which was most likely overrun with soldiers and European tourists (Benjamin, Renoir 42). As before, Renoir found himself in a comfortable atmosphere, similar to that of France. So while on the surface, this trip might appear to be a greater exploration of Islamic culture than his previous visit, it was really his chance to capture Algerian women on canvas. For example, in Mosque at Algiers (1882), Renoir seems at first to focus on Islamic architecture over women when he placed traditionally dressed Algerians in the shadow of a key symbol of Islam, the mosque of Sidi Abd-er-Rahman. In the face of French colonialism, much of Algeria’s trademark buildings had been destroyed, but the French carefully made sure to preserve this holy site (Benjamin, Renoir 46) which housed the remains of theologian Sidi Abd-er-Rahman Et Tsalibi, the patron saint of Algiers (Benjamin, Orientalism 38). As such, Renoir seems to have touched on a very significant part of Algeria: its religion, placing several pious Arabs next to this holy building. Benjamin suggests that Renoir “appreciated this symbol of a beleaguered Islam […] The painting itself declares a preservationist mentality in the face of the encroaching French urbanization, which he fled in climbing to the haute ville and the heart of the Casbah” (Benjamin, Renoir 47). Benjamin’s assessment suggests Renoir began to understand the significance of Islamic culture and wanted to explore and learn as much about the “real” Algeria as he could.
But is this right? Did Renoir lose sight of his Odalisque and replace her with Algerian culture? Benjamin is perhaps a bit too eager to declare this painting a representation of “preservationist mentality” (Benjamin, Renoir 47), as Mosque at Algiers focuses more on Algerian people than Islamic culture in the “heart of the Casbah.” Indeed, in order to center our attention on the people, most of whom are women, Renoir truncates the minaret. This matters because the most important part of a mosque is its minaret, the tower used to call for prayer five times a day and a long standing symbol of Islam. In truncating the minaret, Renoir reduces its significance, a critical maneuver that Benjamin neglects in his analysis of the painting. It isn’t clear at first why he decided to cut down the minaret, but Colin Bailey mirrors Benjamin’s attitude in asserting that the precise detail in the truncated minaret speaks to Renoir’s respect for the building’s composition (Bailey 683). It is interesting that two western, non-Muslim scholars would be so unaware of the implications of Renoir’s disfigured mosque. 
Yet putting Bailey and Benjamin’s theories aside, we realize that Renoir has introduced people into this painting, the majority of whom are women dressed in haiks and basking in the golden sun. The detail in which Renoir depicts these women, the closeness of the figures to the artist and his viewers, could not be achieved without truncating the minaret. Faced with the decision to either focus on the Islamic architecture of the mosque or chop off the minaret to bring his image closer to the veiled women, Renoir decided to do the latter. And this wasn’t just an honest mistake of an uninformed traveler: sketches for this painting reveal that Renoir was cognizant of the significance of minarets in Islamic architecture as he considered making the minaret of the mosque of Sidi Abd-er-Rahman the focus of the picture (Benjamin, Renoir 51). This shows how Renoir’s Mosque at Algiers may seem to bring us closer to Algerian culture, but instead it brings us closer to Algerian people, specifically Algerian women. Renoir has taken his steps away from the “haute-ville” and is a few steps closer to Algeria’s women: his real interest in Algeria from the beginning.
Images: Renoir, Auguste. Mosque at Algiers. Private collection.
The Mosque of Sidi Abd-er-Rahman. Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
Renoir, Auguste. Sketch for “Mosque at Algiers.” Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown.