How does this artwork elucidate its Homage to Delacroix?
In the 1870s, Renoir temporarily rejected the realism of Gustave Courbet and Édouard Manet in favour of the colour and drama of his hero Delacroix. He painted The Harem in homage to Delacroix's Women of Algiers in their Apartment (1834, Louvre) which he later described as "the most beautiful picture in existence".
The title of the picture acknowledged the artificial nature of much Orientalist painting by making it clear that these were Parisian women in costume. It may also be a humorous reference to the fact that Delacroix had been forced to paint Women of Algiers in the studio using French models after failing to obtain adequate access to women's accommodation during his trip to Algiers in 1832.Roger Benjamin described The Harem as a "naturalist demythologization of the Orient" and in the nature of a pastiche. It was rejected for the Salon of 1872 which Benjamin argues resulted in the end of Renoir's experiments with Orientalism in the 1870s.  Although Algerian costume and culture was well known in France in the mid-nineteenth century as a result of French colonial involvement in the country, Renoir did not visit Algeria until 1881.
Roger Benjamin French colonial involvement Women of Algiers in their Apartment pastiche Gustave Courbet Women of Algiers Salon Louvre Édouard Manet Orientalism