Prosper Marilhat (1811-1847) called «the Egyptian» important Orientalist painter born in Vertaizon is the subject in Mezel of his largest retrospective since 1973 in Clermont-Ferrand. He went from Thiers to Paris to study, and from 1831 to 1833 he made a trip to Egypt that marked his career. This period is remarkably represented at the exhibition by the meeting of the largest set of drawings in the Orient since the sale of the artist’s studio in 1849. Among them, two large drawings that belonged to his nephew Adrien Delotz de Thiers. He also had a superb sketch of Cairo also exhibited in Mezel. Views of Thiers illustrate Marilhat’s attachment to his native region. Views of Italy and the south of France reveal a totally unknown Marilhat. The surprise is even greater with a large painting of flowers, the only known to date and which reveals a Marilhat full of delicacy. In order to place Marilhat in the artistic context of his time, the exhibition also presents a large number of works by his contemporaries: Decamps, Dauzats, Gleyre, de Beaumont, Montfort, Prisse d'Avennes, Bida, Barbot, Crapelet, Eustache.