John Frederick Lewis lived in Cairo throughout the 1840s. Lewis was regarded as the preeminent British Orientalist painter after David Roberts, the first professional British artist to travel independently to the Middle East. Like many British Orientalists, Lewis tried to translate the genre painting, the depiction of everyday life, which was fundamental to British art in the nineteenth century to the Middle East. He based his work on firsthand observations like this study of the Bazaar. His work shows a strong fascination with the contemporary Egyptian culture. This is in contrast to Roberts who has been criticised for being more concerned with the East’s ancient remains rather than its contemporary population.