Giulio Rosati (Italian, 1858-1917)

The power of this striking watercolour comes from the way its principal motifs are picked out with strong colours against a plain background of pale desert colours and identically-clothed pilgrims. The richly coloured carpet in the foreground is the artist's main focus, with reds and blues which are echoed in the elegant standing figure on the right, the seated woman, and the striking figure on a camel beyond.