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L Bour
The Carpet Seller, Orientalist Street Scene.

Late 19th Century

About the Item

A late 19th century oil on canvas Orientalist street scene by L Bour. Signed and monogrammed bottom left. A charming rendition of a street scene, the colourful buildings, carved wood doorways, a carpet seller sitting in front of his shop. Bour has managed to capture the feeling of shade away from the harsh sunlight, a cool backwater in a bustling, busy city. He has created interesting shapes and blocks of colour to represent the architecture as well as a great sense of perspective that makes your eye enter in to the composition. There is a feeling of modernity in an otherwise classical composition. 'Orientalism' refers to the representation of the East in Western art which often blurred the line between fantasy and reality. The Orientalist art movement reached its height during the 19th century and is perhaps best known today for its production of impressive oil paintings and works on paper. These paintings were popular in the 19th century, as Europeans and North Americans increasingly turned their attentions to cultures overseas. The works were mostly by male Western artists, made to satisfy an enormous public interest in the lands of the Middle East and North Africa. Many artists travelled to the places they depicted, whether Constantinople, Jerusalem, Cairo or Marrakesh. Others travelled no further than Paris or Vienna, using a mixture of photographs, props and imagination for inspiration. Recurring images included everything from detailed sketches of everyday life to highly imaginative scenes of the harem. Interest in Orientalism developed in tandem with European colonial activity, which allowed soldiers, traders and artists greater access to the places and peoples of these regions. An important function of Orientalist painting was to create a visual record of places of interest. Such images were aimed at a growing market of Europeans and North Americans who either visited the Middle East and North Africa or were interested in the regions from afar. Travel was made easier by steamships and trains, so paintings tended to focus on cities, such as Constantinople, Cairo and Marrakesh, the arrival points for artists and their potential customers alike. Some images depicted sites of religious importance, both Christian and Muslim, while others captured the ancient sites of pre-Islamic history, such as the Egyptian pyramids. Scenes of everyday life, whether realistic or imagined, were a particular source of interest to the Orientalist painters. Some images focused on a single individual, while others engaged with a multitude. Similarly, they ranged from quiet and contemplative pictures to wildly dramatic scenes. The most detailed were perhaps drawn from life, or betrayed the influence of photography – a newly emerging discipline. Others were clearly the products of a studio setting, where objects and clothes from different periods and places were liberally mixed as props. During the 19th century, European and North American artists differed on how best to represent the various peoples of the world. Orientalist painters, who closely studied the different ethnic, religious and social groups of the Middle East and North Africa often focused on clothing. This was a continuation of the ‘costume book’ tradition of earlier centuries, as well as a response to the fashionable new practices of photography and ethnography (the study of people and cultures). Visitors to the Middle East and North Africa were often depicted in local dress, whether as a genuine attempt at cross-cultural existence or simply to experience the ‘unusual’ and different. ( With thanks to Julia Tugwell and The British Museum).
  • Creator:
    L Bour
  • Creation Year:
    Late 19th Century
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 24.5 in (62.23 cm)Width: 20 in (50.8 cm)Depth: 0.5 in (1.27 cm)
  • Medium:
    Canvas,Oil
  • Movement & Style:
    Romantic
  • Period:
    Late 19th Century
  • Condition:
    The painting is in good overall condition commensurate with age. There is extensive craquelure to the surface. It would perhaps benefit from a varnish.
  • Gallery Location:
    Cotignac, FR
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: LG/Bour1stDibs: LU1430211648262
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