Pilgrims going to Mecca (French: Pèlerins allant à La Mecque) is a painting by Léon Belly.

It won a first class medal at the Salon of 1861, was bought by the state from the artist, and originally displayed at the Musée du Luxembourg.

[2] The precision with which Belly depicted both the camels and the human figures gives this painting an almost photographic quality.

[3] Compared with many more romantic portrayals of Middle Eastern people, Belly’s work is both realistic and sympathetic.

His pilgrims are elderly, tired, and very ordinary looking, though their composure, as well as the work’s composition, lend them a quality of nobility.