orientalist sale sotheby 's

Sotheby'sThe Orientalist Sale

London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 1GEORGES WASHINGTON FRENCH

1827 - 1910

LA RENCONTRE DES CAVALIERS

signed G Washington lower left

oil on canvas

65 by 81cm., 25½ by 32in.

ESTIMATE 20,000-30,000 GBP

The Orientalist Sale

London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 2

PROPERTY FROM A EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTIONHERMANN CORRODI ITALIAN

1844 - 1905

THE FOUNTAIN OF THE SWEET WATERS OF ASIA, ON THE BOSPHORUS

signed and inscribed H. Corrodi. Roma lower left

oil on canvas

86.5 by 165cm., 34 by 65in.

ESTIMATE 200,000-300,000 GBP

PROVENANCEAcquired by the present owner in 2001

CATALOGUE NOTEThe present work depicts the mouth of the Göksu stream, formerly known as Guiuk-Suey, on the Asian shores of the

Bosphorus some seven miles north of the Golden Horn. In the distance, silhouetted against the horizon, are the

domes and minarets of Constantinople, while to the left is the freshwater stream of Göksu itself and, behind the

viewer, lies the Anadolu Hisari (Castle of Asia).

The verdant meadow between the Göksu and the Küçüksu streams provided a popular and fashionable resort for the

people of Constantinople to relax and socialise, shaded by the trees and refreshed by the fresh water from the

fountains. The presence of the Küçüksu Palace nearby, a summer residence of the Ottoman sultans, also explains the

glamour of the area.

The Sweet Waters of Asia, as the pleasure ground came to be known, gave Western visitors an excellent opportunity

to observe Ottoman life, and depictions of the area frequently appear in nineteenth century literature, art, and

photography (see fig. 1). With wealthy ladies in their yashmak veils in the centre right, stall traders displaying their

wares, and ferrymen and their passengers on the Göksu, Corrodi presents a particularly harmonious and peaceful

vision of Ottoman life away from the turmoil of the capital.

Fig. 1

Abdullah frères, Les Eaux douces d'Asie, circa 1880, albumen print


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 3GEORGES BRETEGNIER FRENCH

1860 - 1892

UNE AUDIENCE DU PACHA A TANGER

signed and dated G Bretegnier 1887 lower left

oil on canvas

124 by 174cm., 48¾ by 68½in.


PROVENANCEArthur Tooth & Sons, London

UK Private Collection (acquired from the above)

EXHIBITEDParis, Salon, 1887, no. 344 (titled Une audience du Pacha; - Maroc)

Paris, Exposition Universelle, 1889, no. 182 (titled Une audience du Pacha à Tanger)

CATALOGUE NOTEDepicting a pasha seated beneath the cool splendour of one of the grand portals considered to be that of the Dar el

Makhzen Palace, Tangiers, the present work captures the rituals, hierarchy and colourful life that Bretegnier

encountered on his visits to North Africa to optimum effect.

Centrally positioned and raised slightly higher than his subjects, his eminence engages in dialogue with a group of

men who gather round before him to seek his counsel. Outside the richly decorated archway, men line the approach,

sitting in groups or leaning against the formidable palace ramparts, some no doubt patiently waiting their turn to

discuss matters with their ruler, others there to pass the time of day, look on with curiosity or chat with their friends.

The magnificent height of the central arch and the massive scale of the tall palace walls to either side, all focus on the

great authority of the central character in a composition that brilliantly evokes the intense heat of the day, the simple

splendour of the architectural setting – its austerity broken only by the lush leaves of an overhanging tree - and the

colourful cast of characters from near and far attracted to the occasion who populate the canvas, each man a figure

study in his own right.

A pupil of Jean-Léon Gérôme, Bretegnier first visited North Africa at the end of 1884 where he remained until the

following summer, studying the culture and the architecture, while visiting Morocco, Tunisia and Spain. Hugely

influenced by what he found, he took to dressing in the local garb in order to mix more easily with the locals, sporting

a djellaba and travelling with a donkey to transport his equipment. Bretegnier returned to North Africa in 1887,

exploring Tunisia, and renting a house by the sea in Tangiers. The present work was the only painting he showed that

year at the Salon, selecting the painting again for inclusion in the Exposition Universelle of two years later.


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 4

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTIONALBERTO PASINI ITALIAN

1826 - 1899

MARKET DAY

signed and dated A. Pasini 1884 lower right

oil on canvas

48 by 72.5cm., 19 by 28½in.

ESTIMATE 400,000-600,000 GBP

PROVENANCECommendatore Sebastiano Sandri, Turin

Edmundo Sacerdoti, Galleria d’Arte, Milan

Schiapparelli Arte, Biella

Sale: Christie’s, London, 19 June 2003, lot 23

Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

EXHIBITEDTurin, Galleria d’Arte della Gazzetta del Popolo, Mostra Commemorativa di A. Pasini e G.B. Quadrone, 1949, no. 55

Turin, Galleria Fogliatio, Pittori dell’800, 1954, no. 97, illustrated in the catalogue

Rome, Associazione Via Frattina, Mostra dei Maestri dell’Ottocento Pittorico Italiano, 1967

LITERATUREMarziano Bernardi, Alberto Pasini, (exh. cat.), Galleria Fogliato, Turin, 1949, pl. 55, illustrated

Enrico Piceni & Mario Monteverdi, Gli animali nella pintura italiana dell’800, Milan, 1966, pl. X, illustrated (titled Cavalli

arabi al mercato)

Enrico Piceni, ed., Catalogo Bolaffi della pittura italiana dell’800, Turin, 1969, vol. II, p. 353, illustrated (titled Mercato,

with incorrect dimensions 51 by 81cm.)

Agostino Mario Comanducci, Dizionario illustrato dei Pittori, Disegnatori e Incisori Italiani Moderni e Contemporanei,

Milan, 1973, vol. IV, p. 2361, illustrated (as Bazar persiano)

Vittoria Botteri Cardoso, Alberto Pasini, Geneva, 1991, p. 350, no. 752, catalogued (titled Bazar persiano, or Mercato

turco, or Cavalli arabi al mercato) & illustrated

CATALOGUE NOTEMarket Day is a rich example of Pasini’s carefully observed, naturalistic market scenes, painted when the artist was at

the height of his career. Pasini expertly captures the bustle and diversity of the setting, letting the eye wander across

the rhythmically arranged groupings. The work exemplifies the artist’s reputation as both a fine draughtsman and

meticulous colourist, the figures captured precisely, almost photographically, and with the brilliant blues, golds, and

pinks of the ladies’ dresses in the foreground contrasting against the darker colours of the figures in the background.

Mercato turco – or A Turkish Market – is one of the titles by which the present work has been known. Pasini first

travelled to Constantinople on his landmark journey to the East accompanying Prosper Bourré in 1855, which began

his career as an Orientalist painter. He returned to the city again in 1867, in that year receiving a commission from

Sultan Abdul Mecit for two paintings now in the Dolmabahçe Palace, and stayed until 1869. In the present work Pasini

deploys his observations of life in the East: ladies in their veils, traders both negotiating deals and awaiting customers,

riders with their mounts, and men playing a board game – all have been brought together from across the Ottoman

empire by trade.


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 5

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTIONIPPOLITO CAFFI ITALIAN

1809 - 1866

SUNRISE OVER THE GOLDEN HORN

signed and dated Ipto Caffi a Roma / 1844 lower right

oil on canvas

70 by 99.5cm., 27½ by 39¼in.

ESTIMATE 100,000-150,000 GBP

PROVENANCEUK Private Collection (acquired in the 1940s, thence by descent; sale: Sotheby's, London, 16 November 2005, lot

214)


CATALOGUE NOTEThis panoramic view is from the Eyüp Heights south along the Golden Horn, with the Tower of Galata and the domes

and minarets of the Haghia Sophia and Blue Mosque visible in the distance. In the foreground, by the water's edge,

stands the Eyüp Sultan Mosque. Built in 1458, it was the first mosque constructed by the Ottoman Turks following

their conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Often described as the world's greatest natural harbour, the Golden Horn,

on the European side of the city, flows into the Bosphorus at Seraglio Point. According to legend, the Byzantines

threw so many valuables into it during the Ottoman conquest that the waters glistened with gold, and Caffi's view is -

aptly - bathed in a golden morning light.

Caffi attended the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice, studying under Teodoro Matteini, Francesco Bagnara, and

Tranquillo Orsi before establishing his reputation as one of Italy's leading ottocento vedutisti, the heir to Canaletto. His

views are distinguished by his virtuoso command of spatial construction (in 1835 he published a textbook on

perspective, Lezioni di prospettiva pratica, with Antonio Bianchini) and by his striking observation of the fleeting effects

of light and atmosphere as in the present work. While painting mainly in Rome and Venice, in 1843-4 Caffi

travelled to Constantinople, recording his experiences in numerous sketches which he worked up into rare views like

the present one.


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 6

PROPERTY FROM A FRENCH PRIVATE COLLECTIONGERMAIN FABIUS BREST FRENCH

1823 - 1900

FISHERMEN ON THE BOSPHORUS NEAR SCUTARI, WITH THE SELIMIYE BARRACKS IN

THE BACKGROUND

signed Fabius Brest lower left

oil on canvas

52 by 75.5cm., 20½ by 29½in.


PROVENANCEAcquired by the family of the present owner circa 1920-30

CATALOGUE NOTEThe Selimiye Barracks take their name from Sultan Selim III, under whose rule they were constructed. As part of their

renovation during the 1840s, the corner towers visible in the present view were added, and during the Crimean War of

1854-56, the barracks were used by the British Army as a military hospital.

Encouraged by his teacher in Marseille, Emile Loubon, Fabius Brest spent four years, from 1855 until 1859, living in

Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), recording in a series of paintings views of Constantinople, the surrounding

countryside, and the Black Sea coast. The time he spent there continued to inspire his work for the rest of his career,

and provided the subjects for many of his Salon submissions throughout the 1860s and 1870s.


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 7

PROPERTY OF A LADYDAVID ROBERTS R.A. 1796-1864

SIDON LOOKING TOWARDS THE RANGE OF LEBANON

signed and dated David Roberts. R. A. 1858 lower left; also signed, titled, dated and

inscribed on the stretcher: Sidon looking towards the Range of Lebanon from sketches

made on the spot, April 28th 1839/ Painted for Elhanan Bicknell Esq.

oil on canvas

58 by 114.5cm., 23 by 45in.

ESTIMATE 100,000-150,000 GBP

PROVENANCEElhanan Bicknell (commissioned from the artist. Bicknell (1788-1861) was a wealthy businessman and one of the

most important British art patrons of his day, notably to JMW Turner, and a friend of Roberts. His son, Henry Sanford

Bicknell, married Roberts' only daughter, Christine) (his estate sale: Christie's, London, 25 April 1863, lot 72)

Rhodes (purchased at the above sale)

Sir Charles Booth (sale: Christie's, 13 March 1897, lot 62)

Prior (purchased at the above sale)

Sale: Sotheby’s, London, 20 November 1963, lot 82

Purchased at the above sale by the father of the present owner

EXHIBITEDBritish Institution, 1858, no. 76 (titled Tsaida or Sidon, Capital of Ancient Phoenicia, looking towards Mt Lebanon, and

exhibited with its pendant, The Ruins of Tyre (see fig. 1))

LITERATURERoberts’s Record Book, no. 195

The Athenaeum, 1858, p. 214

The Literary Gazette, 13 Feb 1858, pp. 162-3

The Art Journal, 1858, p. 78

The Times, 8 Feb 1858, p. 9

Illustrated London News, 1858, p. 171

The Athenaeum, 1863, vol. I, p. 592

The Art Journal, 1863, p.121

James Ballantine, The Life of David Roberts RA, Edinburgh, 1866, p. 188, no. 214

Helen Guiterman and Briony Llewellyn, David Roberts, (exh. cat.), Barbican Art Gallery, London, 1986, cited with no.

174

William Roberts, Memorials of Christie’s: a record of art sales from 1766 to 1896, London, 1897, vol. I, p. 203

Fine Art Society, London, Spring ’97, (exh. cat.), 1997, cited with no.10

CATALOGUE NOTEThe present view of Sidon in Southern Lebanon, worked up from sketches made up on the spot in 1839, is one of a

pair of Lebanon views Roberts painted in 1858, its pendant The Ruins of Tyre hanging in the Sheffield City Art

Galleries (fig. 1). Writing in his diary, Roberts explained: 'I was determined to sketch and got one or two views of an

ancient fort connected to the land by a bridge of several arches, which has at one time been guarded by a strong

tower’ (MS Eastern Journal, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh). Roberts' panorama alludes to Sidon's rich

history and many conquerors. The figures in the foreground walk on its Roman ruins, while the middle-ground is

dominated by the sea castle built by the Crusaders in 1228. Another pair of canvases with similar dimensions, one of

Tiberius and the other of Sidon, had been painted by Roberts four years earlier for Alfred Brooks.

We are grateful to Briony Llewellyn for her assistance in cataloguing this work.

Fig. 1

David Roberts, The Ruins of Tyre, 1858, Museums Sheffield


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 8RUDOLF WEISSE BOHEMIAN

B. 1859

A MOMENT OF PRAYER

signed R Weisse lower right

oil on panel

60 by 48.5cm., 23¾ by 19in.

ESTIMATE 180,000-250,000 GBP

PROVENANCEPrivate Collection, USA

CATALOGUE NOTEIn A Moment of Prayer Weisse powerfully pays tribute to the customs and religion of the East. Four men are absorbed

in prayerful contemplation, facing towards the Mosque's mihrab indicating the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca. The

two nearest men are at different stages in the positions of the raka'ah, or prayer sequence; the man dressed in yellow

beginning his sequence while the man in green is performing the sujud, prostrating himself. Below the arch an older

man sits reading the Koran.

The elaborate capitals and other architectural features in the present work recall the architecture of Islamic Spain and

North Africa, and notably the Lion Court of the Alhambra. Weisse has meticulously rendered the Arabic text on the far

wall, which reads la ghalib illa Allah- 'there is no conqueror but God'. Indeed this was the motto of the Nasrid Dynasty

(1232-1492), the rulers of Spain responsible for the construction of the Alhambra. Such detailed observation gives a

strong stylistic unity to the setting, while Weisse nevertheless arranges these and other elements to suit his artistic

vision.

Weisse was born in the town of Usti (also known as Aussig) on the banks of the river Elbe. He studied at the Viennese

Akademie der Bildenden Künste, but settled in Paris, where he became a regular exhibitor at the Salon from 1889

(when he showed at the Exposition Universelle) until 1927. Like fellow Austrian School painters Ludwig Deutsch (lot

10), Rudolf Ernst (lots 14 & 19), and Arthur von Ferraris (lot 9), Weisse specialised in Orientalist subjects from early in

his career, responding to a ready market for such new and exciting subjects.

Weisse travelled to Egypt and the Middle East to observe the mores and customs at first hand, and to make detailed

sketches of what he saw. He also brought home with him a whole collection of props, ranging from ceramics and tiles,

pipes and weapons, inlaid furniture and rugs, to beautiful dishdashas and silk robes, which he painted meticulously in

his studio to evoke the rich and colourful mercantile street life of the East.


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 9ARTHUR VON FERRARIS HUNGARIAN

1856-1936

THE LEARNED MAN OF CAIRO

signed and dated Arthur Ferraris le Caire 1888 lower left

oil on panel

46 by 35.5cm., 18 by 14in.


PROVENANCEArthur Tooth & Sons, London

Mrs James Todd, Chipperfield

The Cooling Galleries, London

Private Collection, USA (acquired circa 1940, thence by descent) (sale: Sotheby's, London, 30 May 2008, lot 86)


CATALOGUE NOTEThe present work epitomises Ferraris' academic compositions of the Near East. The painstaking attention devoted to

the depiction of exotic features, such as the Iznik tiles in the background and the vibrantly coloured robe of the seated

man, clearly show the influence of earlier Salon Orientalists, above all Ferraris' teacher, Jean-Léon Gérôme.

It may have been Gérôme who encouraged Ferraris to travel to Cairo - the setting for the present work - and to adopt

a similar, polished realist style. Ferraris travelled to Cairo in the winter of 1885 in the company of his friend and fellow

Orientalist painter par excellence Ludwig Deutsch (lot 10). It is likely that Deutsch's many depictions of daily life in

Egypt had some influence on Ferraris' choice of subject matter. Indeed, images of Cairo and its inhabitants were to

become Ferraris' most celebrated and sought after compositions.

The Learned Man of Cairo exemplifies Ferraris' masterful rendering of exacting photographic detail, where one can

discern each crease in the fabric and perceive every individual crack to the wall tiles. The vivid colours and textures

are electrifying and the powerful diffused light engenders an overall glow to the painting. The attention Ferraris paid to

detail and the virtuosity of his brushwork is particularly evident in the depiction of the seated man and the minutely

rendered architectural detail of the interior. Nonetheless, the setting of the present work is humble: the tiled wall in the

background is crumbling and the only visible furnishings are the wooden chair and rug the man is seated on. This

absence of accoutrements serves to highlight the quiet, spiritual and meditative atmosphere of the present work.


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 10

PROPERTY FROM A BRITISH PRIVATE COLLECTIONLUDWIG DEUTSCH AUSTRIAN

1855-1935

THE OFFERING

signed L. Deutsch PARIS 1897 lower right

oil on panel

61.5 by 80cm., 24¼ by 31½in.

ESTIMATE 500,000-700,000 GBP

PROVENANCEDoig, Wilson & Wheatley, Edinburgh

Acquired from the above by the family of the present owners circa 1900, thence by descent

CATALOGUE NOTEThe Offering is a tour de force of Orientalist art, a masterful observation of the customs, costumes and architecture of

the East, rendered with faithful verisimilitude and in painstaking detail. The importance Deutsch attached to this

composition is reflected by the fact that he painted a second, undated, version, with minor compositional differences

and measuring 69.8 by 95.5cm, now in a private collection (see Lynne Thornton, Les Orientalistes, peintres

voyageurs, Paris, 2001, p. 241).

A cortège of four figures approaches an entrance guarded by a Nubian sentinel to pay their tributes. Leading the

retinue is an elder bearing a rolled scroll. He leads a nobleman and a soldier. The soldier wearing the helmet carries a

Persian Qajar ivory-hilted jambiya in his belt and an Ottoman shamshir sword with a curved blade in his hand. They

are accompanied by a servant carrying the gifts to be presented, including a Qajar gold-overlaid helmet and an

Ottoman yataghan as worn by the Janissary Guard. The well-armed sentinel standing guard, his yataghan bared,

carries not only a kindjaldagger but an Ottoman flintlock pistol and a powder flask in his belt. The entrance itself,

presumably to a palace, incorporates many architectural elements from the portal of the Mosque of Sultan Hassan in

Cairo (fig. 1), a site which inspired other Orientalist painters, notably David Roberts (lot 7) and John Frederick Lewis

(fig. 2).

Deutsch was the leading Orientalist painter of the Austrian school, which also included Rudolf Ernst, Arthur von

Ferraris, and Rudolf Weisse. He trained at the Vienna Academy in 1872 but settled in Paris in 1878, where he studied

with the history painter Jean-Paul Laurens and honed his highly academic style. Deutsch began travelling regularly to

Egypt in 1883, and Orientalist subjects dominated his oeuvre from this time on, earning him unprecedented praise. In

1900, three years after painting The Offering, Deutsch received a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris,

and later the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur. The polished surfaces and hallucinatory realism of his paintings were

founded on a vast collection of photographs he amassed in Cairo. Deutsch also acquired hundreds of props while

abroad, which dressed his Paris studio and featured in many of his paintings.

Fig. 1

Photograph of part of the portal of the Mosque of Sultan Hassan,

Cairo, Courtesy of the Edward Gibbs Photographic Archive

Fig. 2

John Frederick Lewis, Exterior of the Mosque of Sultan Hassan,

Cairo, circa 1841/51, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 11

PROPERTY FROM A FRENCH PRIVATE COLLECTIONSTANISLAUS VON CHLEBOWSKI POLISH

1835 - 1884

MENDICANT AT THE MOSQUE DOOR

signed St Chlebowski lower left

oil on canvas

43 by 27cm., 17 by 10½in.


PROVENANCESale: Hôtel des ventes de Grenoble (Maître Pierre Blache), 16 December 1968

Purchased at the above sale by the father of the present owner


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 12JEAN-LÉON GÉRÔME FRENCH

1824 - 1904

CARAVANE DANS LE DESERT

signed J.L.GEROME lower left

oil on canvas

49.5 by 81.5cm., 19½ by 32in.

ESTIMATE 200,000-300,000 GBP

PROVENANCEGoupil & Cie., Paris

Private Collection, France

LITERATUREGerald Ackerman, The Life and Work of Jean-Léon Gérôme, London, 1986, p. 302, no. 551, catalogued (as lost and

described in error as vertical)

Gerald Ackerman, La Vie et l'oeuvre de Jean-Léon Gérôme, Courbevoie-Paris, 2000, p. 376, no. 551, catalogued (as

lost); p. 377, illustrated

CATALOGUE NOTEThis evocative work captures a camel caravan filing through a desert landscape, very possibly the Sinai, at sunset.

Although they rarely travelled faster than the walking speed of a man, camels' ability to handle harsh conditions made

them ideal for communication and trade in the desert areas of northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula for centuries,

though they could only travel on routes with sufficient sources of food and water.

With great mastery, Gérôme evokes the utter stillness of the evening desert air, as the caravan makes its final

approach towards an oasis where it will halt for the night and the camels will be watered. Gérôme had seen such

caravans during his first trip to Egypt with the sculptor and photographer Auguste Bartholdi in 1855-56, and on

another trip in 1868, this time accompanied by his brother-in-law the photographer Albert Goupil and fellow painters

Paul Lenoir, Léon Bonnat, and Willem de Famars Testas. He was therefore familiar with this harsh, wild world, and the

way in which its inhabitants braved it with impassive dignity.

The conception of Caravane dans le désert was based on sketches Gérôme had made of the desert, but more

importantly, on the photographs first taken by Bartholdi and later by Goupil (fig. 1) on the expeditions he made with

them. Both the panoramic backdrop and the precise style in which it is executed make the painting a fascinating

example of the link between the aesthetics of photography and Gérome’s own painterly vision, based on precision

draftsmanship and clear composition.

This rediscovered work was until recently known only through a photograph in the stock books of the dealer Goupil.

Fig. 1

Albert Goupil, Our Camp in the Sinai, 1868, albumen print


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 13KONSTANTIN MAKOVSKY RUSSIAN

1839 - 1915

IN THE CLASSROOM

signed in Cyrillic lower right

oil on canvas

77.5 by 112cm., 30½ by 44in.


PROVENANCESale: Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, 19-23 November 1957, lot 2280

Private Collection, Switzerland (sale: Sotheby's, London, 1 December 2005, lot 25)

Sale: Sotheby's, London, 30 November 2010, lot 148


CATALOGUE NOTEThis highly original and animated scene of a schoolroom is testament to Makovsky's fascination with life in Cairo

when he visited the city in 1873. Rather than focus on obvious subjects like views of the city or the interiors of the

grand Mosques and souks, he was drawn to more intimate, 'behind-the-scenes' vignettes of daily life in the Egyptian

capital. Here, he captures two school lessons in progress in an authentic, unidealised interior: the children's books lie

open on their book stands; everyone has removed their shoes, which stand in rows or have been shoved pell mell into

the cupboards let into the walls. Some of the children sit on rolled up straw carpets, and the whole scene is illuminated

by daylight coming through the mashrabiye screens covering the high windows. In the background the classroom

entrance opens onto a narrow Cairo street. Egypt's culture and traditions went on to inspire his most important

Orientalist work, the monumental Transportation of the Holy Carpet from Mecca to Cairo (fig.1).

Makovsky's choice and close observation of such an everyday subject is testament to his deeply held artistic

convictions. He had started out as a history and portrait painter, but disenchanted with the rigid traditionalism of the

Imperial Academy of Arts in St Peterburg while studying there, he and twelve other students, including Ilya

Repin, resigned from the Academy in 1863 and went on to found The Wanderers, an artists' society calling for the

regeneration of art. Adopting a Realist manner and touring their paintings across Russia, these artists took as their

subjects scenes from the lives of peasants and the common people, intended to arouse pity or inspire the oppressed

to better themselves. The reversal of official policy that their campaign engendered led to Makovsky being made an

academician in 1867, a professor in 1869, and a full member of the Academy in 1898.

Fig. 1

Transportation of the Holy Carpet from Mecca to Cairo, 1876, State

Russian Museum, St. Petersburg


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 14RUDOLF ERNST AUSTRIAN

1854-1932

A CAPTIVE TIGER

signed R. Ernst lower left

oil on panel

80 by 100cm., 31½ by 39½in.


PROVENANCEPrivate Collection, New Jersey (sale: Christie's, New York, 30 October 2002, lot 89)


CATALOGUE NOTEUnlike many Orientalist painters, who made great efforts to advertise that their compositions were conceived or

executed 'on-the-spot', Ernst made no apologies for the imaginative craftsmanship that took place in his Paris studio.

The present work, painted long after his travels to the Middle East were over, brings together a number of interesting

vignettes and well-observed details that were probably never witnessed by Ernst in one place or at one time.

The captive tiger was among Ernst's most popular subjects, and commissions resulted in several variations on the

theme. The composition allowed him to show off in one his diverse experiences, his rigorous draughtsmanship,

and his mastery at rendering light, colour, and texture. The men's and animals' anatomies, the hunters' weapons and

accoutrements, and the desert landscape - no doubt modelled on sketches and photographs taken in the Sinai desert

- are all observed with the same refinement to make for a compelling and sumptuous whole.


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 15FERDINAND MAX BREDT GERMAN

1868-1921

AFTERNOON REPOSE

signed F.M. Bredt lower left

oil on board

50 by 79.5cm., 19¾ by 31¼in.


PROVENANCEAcquired by the family of the previous owner in 1932

CATALOGUE NOTEBredt travelled widely in Turkey and Tunisia, and it was the women he encountered that became the main inspiration

for his work. Whether set in courtyards or interiors, his paintings are characterised by sumptuous colours and an

atmosphere of languor and softness.

Afternoon Repose is wonderfully sensual work: touch is evoked by the reclining girl dipping her hand in the fountain;

smell by the olenader flowers in the background; sound by the lute played by the seated girl; and sight through the

wealth of surfaces, from the wall of polished tiles to the woven rug, the rippling water and the girls' robes. The whole is

bathed in a soft afternoon light, with rays of sun providing accents of light from above.

The harem as a subject was a constant source of inspiration to the Orientalist painters, not least because it left so

much open to the imagination, being a private space inaccessible to male painters. Bredt evokes a domestic scene

of bliss and tranquility.


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 16

PROPERTY FROM A BRITISH PRIVATE COLLECTIONETIENNE DINET FRENCH

1861 - 1929

SPECTATEURS ADMIRANT UNE DANSEUSE

signed and dated E DINET / 1905 lower left

oil on canvas

84 by 102.5cm., 33 by 40¼in.

ESTIMATE 200,000-300,000 GBP

PROVENANCEGalerie Allard, Paris

Marquis du P. (by 1911)

Verney Seymour Ackroyd, Bradford, Yorkshire (by the 1940s); thence by descent

EXHIBITEDParis, Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, 1906, no. 402 (titled Dans un café de danseuses (un groupe de

spectateurs) )

Paris, Galerie Allard, 1924 (titled Groupe de spectateurs admirant une danseuse)

LITERATUREÉtienne Dinet & Slimane Ben Ibrahim, Mirages, Paris, 1906, p. 171, illustrated

Louis Vauxelles, Le Salon de 1906, Paris, 1906, p. 32, illustrated

Les Arts, Paris, no. 53, May 1906, p. 12, illustrated

Camille Mauclair, Action africaine, no. 3, March 1912, p. 8, illustrated

Afrique du Nord illustrée, no. 287, 30 October 1926, p. 7, illustrated

Gabriel Audisio, Larousse mensuel, no. 318, August 1933, p. 473, illustrated

Denise Brahimi & Koudir Benchikou, La vie et l'oeuvre de Etienne Dinet, Paris, 1984, p. 196, no. 154, catalogued &

illustrated (titled Groupe de spectateurs dans un café de danseuses)

CATALOGUE NOTESpectateurs admirant une danseuse is a superb example of Dinet's mature oeuvre, testament to his intimate

knowledge of, and respect for, the people of Algeria. Fluid, almost Impressionistic brushstrokes, and beautifully

confident handling of light as it filters through from behind the figures, are coupled with a sympathetic, careful

observation of the men’s various expressions as they react to the dance unfolding before them.

Dinet took great interest in painting the women of Algeria in their traditional dances, particularly the dancers of the

Ouled Naïl tribe. Here, however, the focus is entirely on the male onlookers’ faces, leaving the viewer to imagine the

rest of the scene. As in Dinet’s best works, the frame is filled with his subjects, in a naturalistic, uncontrived

composition which suggests the influence of photography on the artist’s work.

Dinet's fascination with Algeria dated from his first visit in 1883. This proved to be a turning point in his career: he

returned virtually every summer thereafter, visiting the capital and oasis towns of Bou Saâda, Biskra and Laghouat.

1905, in which this work was painted, was a decisive period for Dinet. In 1904 the artist had acquired a house in Bou

Saâda, the closest of the oasis towns to Algiers some 150 miles south-east of the capital, choosing to settle there

permanently.

In his commitment to the places and people of Algeria, Dinet immersed himself in the life of Islamic north Africa more

than virtually any other Orientalist artist. Dinet spoke Arabic fluently, and his interest in Islam became increasingly

evident in his paintings (see fig. 1). In 1913 he converted to Islam, and changed his name to Nasreddin ('Defender of

the Faith'). In 1929 Dinet went on the Hajj with his friend Slimane Ben Ibrahim.

More than anything Dinet intended his paintings to be faithful, as well as beautiful, records of the vicissitudes of daily

life as experienced by the people of the Algerian oasis towns. Dinet’s paintings are important depictions of the life of

the local people by an observer who became part of their world.

Fig. 1

Etienne Dinet, Le Croissant, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Angers


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 17

PROPERTY OF A LADYFREDERICK ARTHUR BRIDGMAN AMERICAN

1847 - 1928

PENSIVE MOMENTS

signed FA Bridgman lower right

oil on canvas

55.5 by 47cm., 22 by 18½in.



London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 18ETIENNE DINET FRENCH

1861 - 1929

FILLETTE SE VOILANT

signed and dated E DINET / 1901 lower right

oil on panel

35 by 27cm., 13¾ by 10½


PROVENANCEGeorges Leygues (1857-1933, French Politician during the Third Republic, Minister of Marine, and briefly Prime

Minister of France)

Sale: Christie's, Paris, 18 December 2007, lot 14


EXHIBITEDBordeaux, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Exposition de la Société des Amis des Arts, 1901, no. 18

Paris, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Rétrospective Dinet à l'Exposition Coloniale Internationale, 1931, no. 10 (lent by

Georges Leygues)

LITERATUREJeanne Dinet-Rollince, La Vie d'Etienne Dinet, Paris, 1938, p. 90

Denise Brahimi & Koudir Benchikou, La vie et l'oeuvre d'Etienne Dinet, Paris, 1984, p. 181, no. 86, catalogued &

illustrated; p. 58, illustrated; also illustrated on the cover


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 19RUDOLF ERNST AUSTRIAN

1854-1932

THE FORTUNE TELLER

signed R Ernst lower right

oil on panel

92 by 72cm., 36¼ by 28¼in.

ESTIMATE 100,000-150,000 GBP

PROVENANCEAcquired by the present owner circa 2005

CATALOGUE NOTEIn this richly finished work, a fortune teller reads a woman's future outside an arched portico. What he predicts from

the mysterious energy flowing between her hand and the sand of fortune is left to the viewer's imagination, adding

narrative tension to the painting. In ornament and design, the gateway resembles those portals recorded by the great

French artist and scholar Achille Prisse d'Avennes (1807-79), and may owe as much to one of these large, richly

coloured lithographs, as to sketches made by Ernst on site. The eclectic components of the composition - the

banded stonework, the woman's flowing robes, the gleaming yellow dishdasha of the fortune teller, and the well-worn

wooden bench on which he sits - make this painting, like many of Ernst's best works, a veritable tapestry in pattern

and texture, a cumulative memory of his disparate travels in the Orient.

After studying at the Vienna Academy, Ernst travelled to Rome and, in the 1880s, to Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia.

Later travels would take him to Egypt and, in 1890, to Turkey. In 1876, Ernst settled in France, exhibiting regularly at

the Salon de la Société des artistes français and eventually taking French nationality. After starting out painting

portraits and genre scenes, from 1885 Ernst turned exclusively to painting Orientalist subjects, which he worked up

from the sketches, photographs, souvenirs, and memories accumulated during his travels. Almost all his paintings

were executed in his studio in Paris, which he decorated in an eclectic Eastern style, and in which he would paint

wearing a taboosh, the better to transport himself mentally into the world created in his canvases.


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 20PIERRE-EMILE GIGOUX DE GRANDPRÉ FRENCH

B. 1826

LA PROMENADE DU HAREM

signed and dated E. de Grandpré 1883 lower right

oil on canvas

114 by 146.5cm., 45 by 57¾in.


CATALOGUE NOTEIn this serene panorama, a barque propelled by eight oarsmen, carrying a harem of veiled beauties guarded by a

eunuch, glides across the water in a tranquil Egyptian landscape. A turbaned courtier, seated at the prow, watches

over his precious charge, while a ninth oarsman steers from the stern. On the horizon rise the ruins of an

archaeological site, presumably the Temple of Karnak at Luxor, while two feluccas lie moored in the middle distance.

‘Harem’ originally meant the hidden and forbidden place where the sultan’s wives lived, and was a constant source of

fascination for Western artists who were barred from this private world. Here, the wives and concubines are seen, or

imagined, during a brief moment of recreation beyond the confines of their domestic space.

The composition of Gigoux’s painting draws on two famous paintings by his contemporary, Jean-Léon Gérôme (lot

12): Le Prisonnier (1861, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nantes), and the eponymous Promenade du harem (1869, fig. 1),

the silhouette of the ruins borrowed from the former, and the boat and figures from the latter. Armand Sylvestre’s

praise of Gérôme’s Promenade describes Gigoux’s painting just as accurately: ‘This thoroughly remarkable

composition exudes an infinite calm, the calm of warm evenings over quiet waters, before the light wing of night

flutteringly disturbs the polished surface of the river and fills the atmosphere with imperceptible vibrations.’ (‘Salon de

1869’, La Revue moderne, vol. 53, p. 153). The overall effect of reverie of both Gérôme’s and Gigoux’s paintings may

in turn have been suggested by the most famous painting by Gérôme’s teacher, Charles Gleyre, Lost Illusions.

Fig. 1

Jean-Léon Gérôme, Promenade du Harem, 1869, Chrysler Museum

of Art, Norfolk, VA


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 21EUGÈNE FROMENTIN FRENCH

1820 - 1876

FELUCCA AU BORD DU NIL

signed indistinctly E. Fro[...] lower right

oil on canvas

95.5 by 85.5cm., 37¾ by 33¾in.


PROVENANCEFamily of the artist (sale: Sotheby's, Paris, 24 October 2007, lot 13)


EXHIBITEDLa Rochelle, Bibliothèque Municipale et Musée des Beaux-Arts, Fromentin le peintre et l'écrivain, 1970, no. 38

LITERATUREBarbara Wright & James Thompson, Eugène Fromentin, Paris, 2008, p. 313, catalogued; p. 312, illustrated

CATALOGUE NOTEPainted circa 1875-76.


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 22

PROPERTY OF A LADYALBERTO PASINI ITALIAN

1826 - 1899

THE ROUT

signed and dated A Pasini 1884 lower right

oil on canvas

82 by 121cm., 32¼ by 47¾in.


PROVENANCEBlakeslee Collection, New York (his sale, Chickering Hall, New York, 4 April 1893)

Sale: Christie's, London, 3 November 1977, lot 175


EXHIBITEDParis, Galerie Boussod & Valadon, Pasini, 1886 (titled Le Déroute)

LITERATUREPaul de Katow, 'L'Exposition des études de Venise par P.', Gill Blas, Paris, 8 March 1886, no. 2302

L'Illustrazione Popolare per la Famiglie, 1889, pp. 456-7 (titled La carica)

J. Copeau, L'Orient de Pasini, Paris, 1911, p. 16, illustrated

Vittoria Botteri Cardoso, Pasini, Genoa, 1991, pp. 350-51, catalogued and illustrated (titled In rotta)

CATALOGUE NOTEAt the 1886 Pasini exhibition at Galerie Boussod & Valadon, Paul de Katow singled out the present work and The

Falconer for special mention: 'il faut signal Le Fauconnier et Le Déroute qui sont des chefs-d'oeuvre' (Paul de Katow,

op. cit.).


London | 23 Apr 2013, 02:30 PM | L13100

LOT 23PIERRE JULES MÊNE FRENCH

1810 - 1879

FAUCONNIER ARABE À PIED (ARAB FALCONER ON FOOT)

signed: P.J. MÊNE

bronze, gilt and warm brown patina

67cm., 26 3/8 in.


CATALOGUE NOTERELATED LITERATURE

M. Poletti and A. Richarme, Pierre-Jules Mêne. Catalogue raisonné, Paris, 2007, p. 40, no. F11

orientalist sale sotheby 's

Documents

muse des beaux

caf de danseuses

arthur von

galerie boussod

french private

british private

orientalist

private collection