Hindu Snake Charmers, 1869. Mariano Fortuny accompanied General Prims military expedition to Morocco in 1860. Following the defeat of the Moroccan army at the battle of T?touan, Spain controlled a portion of the western Sahara until 1976. On a number of occasions, Fortuny returned to North Africa, where the clarity of the atmosphere and the intensity of the sunlight profoundly influenced him. In this scene, set outdoors at twilight, a turbaned Indian mesmerizes a cobra with a reed. The artist, a collector of Islamic decorative arts, includes such accessories as a copper bowl, luster plate, and saddle.