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UnknownPortrait of an Arab, with pyramids beyond
$12,099.04
£8,750
€10,337.78
CA$16,700.72
A$18,556.33
CHF 9,754.33
MX$226,500.27
NOK 123,329.48
SEK 115,624.15
DKK 77,153.73
About the Item
Central European School, second half 19th century
Portrait of an Arab, with pyramids beyond
Oil on canvas
66.3 x 55.2 cm.; (within frame) 86.9 x 69.9 cm.
Unsigned
Provenance:
Private collection, Austria;
R. S. Schwarze (inv. no. 54.190);
Dorotheum, Vienna, Oil Paintings and Watercolours of the 19th Century, 18 June 2007 (lot 233);
Christie’s, London, 19th Century European Art, 1 February 2012 (lot 253);
Private collection, United Kingdom.
Perhaps depicting an Arab scholar, a contemplative absorption distinguishes the present subject from the assurance of some European tourists, who fastened the cultural capital of visits to Egypt and the East with portraits in ‘exotic’ dress. Dominating the central composition, the subject is lit by an unseen light source, and flanked by pyramids which fade into the dusk horizon. This uncanny presence suggests an imagined quality unlike that of a formal portrait. Gazing upward with evocative consideration, his pupils are wetted prophetically, and brow creased in thought ‒ an intellectual preoccupation which might recall an historic, philosophical or academic figure. Plausibly modelled in part from life, a studio model wearing Oriental dress likely provided the subject for this aesthetic (and not documentary) character portrait.
Another possible identification is Giovanni Battista Belzoni (1778-1823), the renowned Italian archaeologist of Egypt whose appearance in lifetime engravings is comparable to that of the present sitter (BM 1860,1013.3; NPG D7715). Similarities include a long moustache and beard, a large turban, and an outer garment worn over a jellabiya. This identification might rationalise a seemingly imagined, posthumous representation of a figure associated with Egypt and its ancient architecture. However, while some unattributed portraits identified as Belzoni have recently come to market, the present work bears no definitive association to the explorer. Jan Adam Kruseman’s portrait of Belzoni, painted a year after his death, again presents a differing likeness.
The work is of some skill, and the proficient handling of light and delicate modelling of the face are suggestive of formal academic training. Yet broad stylistic idiosyncrasies, dissimilar to the overarching Orientalist method, are indicative of a central European artist operating a relatively individual output. Both psychologically probing and consciously decorative, the intent presence of the sitter is combined with glorious deep colouring to produce a particularly striking character.
- Dimensions:Height: 34.22 in (86.9 cm)Width: 27.52 in (69.9 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Maidenhead, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2820216464452
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