It is the light of the south which will help me to make my tableaux a feast for the eye. 
 
 
 

… come to Barbary   and there you will see these natural qualities that are always disguised in our countries, and you will feel moreover the rare  and precious influence of the sun, which gives intense life to everything. 
 
 

This people is wholly antique ...  possessing the majesty which is lacking among ourselves in the gravest circumstances... it was among these people that I really discovered for myself the beauty of antiquity.