Skip to main content

Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Austrian, 1854-1932

Rudolf Ernst had a lifelong fascination with Islamic and Moorish art, which informed his richly colored orientalist paintings. These demonstrate the Austrian artist’s extraordinary attention to detail and his mastery of texture and form.

Ernst was born in 1854 in Vienna. His father, Leopold Ernst, was a painter and architect. Encouraged by his father to pursue his interest in the arts, Ernst entered the Academy of Fine Arts at age 15. There, he studied academic art under Austrian painter and muralist August Eisenmenger and German classicist painter Anselm Feuerbach

In 1874, Ernst left the Academy to study the Old Masters in Rome. After two years in Italy, he moved to Paris, where he met Turkish painter Osman Hamdi Bey, who inspired him to paint orientalist subjects. 

In the following years, Ernst traveled extensively throughout Turkey, Morocco, Egypt and Moorish Spain, where he was enamored with Islamic art and culture. By 1885, his oeuvre consisted mainly of orientalist themes. Ernst’s favorite subjects included the harem — as shown in his figurative painting Spinning Yarn in the Harem (1886) — Hindu temples, Nubian guards and scenes of Islamic daily life, such as his watercolor portrait Man Smoking in Doorway.

In 1890, Ernst was introduced to the art of ceramic tile decorating while visiting Constantinople (today’s Istanbul). Back in Paris, he continued learning about ceramic art from ceramicist and glassmaker Léon Fargue. During his later years, Ernst constructed a ceramic studio where he made orientalist faience tiles. He also continued painting resplendent Eastern scenes from his Ottoman-style studio, often wearing a tarboosh hat while he worked. 

Ernst participated in several notable exhibitions, including the Exposition Universelle held in Paris in 1889 and 1900. He won a bronze medal at the 1889 Exposition. He died in 1932. 

Today, Ernst’s paintings can be found in the collections of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Dahesh Museum of Art in New York City.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of Rudolf Ernst’s paintings.

to
1
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
1
2
784
705
692
674
2
2
Artist: Rudolf Ernst
Praying in the Desert by Rudolf Ernst, 19th Century Oil on Panel
By Rudolf Ernst
Located in Jacksonville, FL
Rudolph Ernst’s Praying in the Desert is a masterful example of Orientalist art, showcasing the artist's profound ability to blend intricate detail with an atmosphere of serene spiri...
Category

19th Century Academic Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

Bedouin at Prayer, Orientalist Oil Painting on Panel by Rudolf Ernst
By Rudolf Ernst
Located in Long Island City, NY
This painting by Orientalist artist Rudolf Ernst depicts a Muslim man in quiet contemplation during prayer. He kneels in solitude in the vast desert as the light fades around him. Ma...
Category

1890s Old Masters Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Related Items
Baroque Dutch painter - Late 18th century figure painting - Inn Interior - Panel
Located in Varmo, IT
Dutch painter (18th-19th century) - The spanking. 60 x 99 cm without frame, 67 x 106 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on panel, without frame (not signed). Condition report: Wo...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Shipping in Calm Waters, 18th Century Dutch Oil on Wood Panel, Man o War
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Shipping in Calm Waters Dutch School, 18th century oil painting on wood panel panel: 10 x 12.75 inches framed: 14 x 17 inches condition: very good, minor evidenc...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Landscape Near Felday, Surrey
By Abraham Hulk the Younger
Located in Hillsborough, NC
Dutch/English artist Abraham Hulk the Younger (1851-1922) is most known for landscapes of the British countryside. This work is one of a pair (the second work is also available by s...
Category

Late 19th Century Old Masters Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Landscape Near Felday, Surrey
Landscape Near Felday, Surrey
$2,240 Sale Price
20% Off
H 27 in W 22.75 in D 2.13 in
The Road to Emmaus, German Old Master Painting
Located in Stockholm, SE
German School, 1700s The Road to Emmaus oil on panel unframed: 24.3 x 17.5 cm (9.6 x 6.9 inches) framed: 34.5 x 28 cm (13.6 x 11 inches) Provenance: Swedish author and artist Amel...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Mannerist Italian painter - 16th century figure painting - Christ Calvary
Located in Varmo, IT
Italian painter (16th century) - Ascent to Calvary. 18 x 28 cm. Antique oil painting on panel, without frame (not signed). Condition report: Good state of conservation of the pain...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

The pearl necklace and the violets. Women in art!
By Madeleine Lemaire
Located in New York, NY
“The pearl necklace and the violets” . Oil on canvas 83x103cm, signed, untouched. An excellent example of french academic art from late XIX century. A great example of women in art...
Category

Early 20th Century Academic Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Late 19th Century Reclining Nude California School
Located in Soquel, CA
Late 19th century California School reclining nude female figure by anonymous 19th Century artist. In the style of William-Adolphe Bouguereau. ...
Category

Late 19th Century Academic Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Bustling 17th century harbour landscape with fishermen, visitors and merchants
By Mathys Schoevaerdts
Located in Aartselaar, BE
17th Century Flemish Painting "A bustling scene of fishermen, merchants and visitors in a peaceful and picturesque port village” This intriguing painting offers a wonderful and real...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Macbeth and the Three Witches a Painting on Panel by Francesco Zuccarelli
By Francesco Zuccarelli
Located in PARIS, FR
This painting, created during Zuccarelli's stay in England, represents the decisive moment when Macbeth, together with Banquo, meets the three witches who announce that he will be Ki...
Category

1760s Old Masters Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Stag Hunting in the Vicinity of Nuremberg by a German Artist Peter von Bemmel
Located in PARIS, FR
This small landscape shows a hunting scene: two riders are chasing a stag with their dogs at the edge of a forest. Signed by Peter von Bemmel, it is typical of the production of this...
Category

1720s Old Masters Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Copper

Wooded Figurative River Landscape - Dutch 17thC Golden Age art oil painting
Located in London, GB
This superb 17th century Dutch Golden Age oil painting has been more recently reattributed to Abraham Begeyn by Dr Marijke C. de Kinkelder formerly of the RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History. Painted circa 1640 it is an Italianate wooded river landscape with drovers and their herd crossing a river with a watchtower beyond. Begeyn was one of the many 17th-century Dutch and Flemish painters to embrace the Italianate style, populating their decidedly non-Dutch, mountainous landscapes with rustic travellers and picturesque ruins bathed in warm, Mediterranean light. It has Begeyn's characteristic brightly lit cattle and grouping of figures, similar to a comparable painting in the Lichtenstein Princely Collections. The brushwork and details are superb. One can see the influence of his teacher Nicholaes Berchem (1620-1683) and the typical golden glow of the Golden Age painters. This is a stunning 17th century Golden Age oil painting and an excellent example of Begeyn's work. Provenance: With Koetser Gallery, Zurich. Private Collection (Rhine region). Anon. sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, 22 June 2010, lot 357, as by Jacob de Heusch (€18,600). Anon. sale, Christie's South Kensington,18 November 2015, lot 432, as 'Follower of Nicolaes Berchem'; where purchased by the present owner. Note: Begeyn was one of the many 17th-century Dutch and Flemish painters to embrace the Italianate style, populating their decidedly non-Dutch, mountainous landscapes with rustic travellers and picturesque ruins bathed in warm, Mediterranean light. He is thought to have studied under Nicolaes Berchem (1620-1683), a pioneer of this genre of landscape painting, and travelled extensively to Italy, London and later to Germany in 1688, where he lived out his days as court painter to Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg (later Frederick I, King of Prussia). The present work was previously thought to be the work of Jacob de Heusch (1656-1701), but has been more recently reattributed to Abraham Begeyn by Dr Marijke C. de Kinkelder formerly of the RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History. A comparable scene, which also includes Begeyn's characteristic brightly lit cattle and a similar figure group, was sold at Christie's Amsterdam, 18 November 2015, lot 110. Another can be found in the Liechtenstein Princely Collections (no.GE 290). Condition. Oil on canvas, image size 21 inches by 18 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a beautiful gilt frame, 28 inches by 25 inches and in good condition. Abraham Begeyn (c. 1637 Leiden - 11 June 1697 Berlin), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Begeyn was born in Leiden. Though perhaps known mostly for his Italianate landscapes and cattle in the manner of Nicolaes Pietersz Berchem, Begyn was a highly skilled painter active in many genres, who travelled widely. According to the RKD, Begeyn's earliest known work is from 1653, though he was first accepted into the Guild of St. Luke in Leiden in 1655. He stopped paying dues in 1667, because he set off for a trip to Italy. He is registered in Rome and Naples from 1659–1660. In the rampjaar or disaster year, of 1672, he is registered in Amsterdam, and after that he lived in London, where he painted at Ham House, Surrey, together with Willem van de Velde the Younger (1633–1707) and Dirck van Bergen...
Category

1640s Old Masters Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Oil

Old master painting of Cherubs cavorting in a woodland setting
By Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Located in Harkstead, GB
A charming image of cherubs cavorting with sheaths of wheat in a woodland setting. Follower of Jean-Honoré Fragonard Cherubs cavorting before a tree Oil on panel 10¾ x 14 inches exc...
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Previously Available Items
Spinning Yarn in the Harem by Rudolf Ernst
By Rudolf Ernst
Located in New Orleans, LA
Rudolf Ernst 1854-1932 Austrian Spinning Yarn Signed and dated “R. Ernst 86” (lower right) Oil on panel Austro-French Orientalist painter Rudolf Ernst showcases his aptitude for the genre in this skillfully executed oil on panel. In it, two exotically dressed...
Category

19th Century Academic Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

La Fileuse
By Rudolf Ernst
Located in New York, NY
RUDOLF ERNST Austrian, 1854-1932 La Fileuse Signed 'R. Ernst' Oil on panel 13 x 9 1/2 inches Framed: 20.25 in. x 16.50 inches
Category

1890s Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Large Oil Painting of A Dervish Man Rudolf Ernst
By Rudolf Ernst
Located in New York, NY
Rudolf Ernst Austrian 1854 - 1932 A Dervish signed R. Ernst lower left oil on panel Unframed: 55 by 45cm., 21¾ by 17¾in. Framed: 90.8 by 81.5cm., 35¾ by 32in. Dervishes in Islam were members of a Sufi fraternity, religious mendicants who chose or accepted material poverty. Their lives were dedicated to the universal values of love and service, and on the renunciation of ego to reach God, and the alms they received were not for their own good but to help others in need. In most Sufi orders, a dervish was known to practice the ritual prayer of dhikr through dance or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God. Their most popular practice was Sama, which is associated with the thirteenth-century mystic Rumi. In folklore, dervishes are often credited with the ability to perform miracles, including healing powers. In the present work, a dervish descends stairs carrying a kashkul, or beggar’s bowl. Considered to be the most emblematic accoutrement of the wandering dervish, kashkuls were primarily used to collect alms and occasionally as drinking vessels. In later centuries, many functioned as decorative objects since a devoted dervish would be unlikely to carry an elaborately carved kashkul as it would contradict his belief in the renunciation of worldly goods. BIOGRAPHY Rudolf Ernst was born in Vienna in 1854 and joined the Academy of Fine Arts at the age of 15. Ernst also studied in the studios of Eisenmenger and Feuerbach at the Viennese Academy. After a sojourn to Rome in 1874, he settled in Paris in 1876 where he would exhibit at the Salon des Artistes Francais for the following six decades, befriending Ludwig Deutsch...
Category

Late 19th Century Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Rudolf Ernst (1854-1932) Signed French-Austrian Oil, Bishop and Monk in Interior
By Rudolf Ernst
Located in Corsham, GB
A truly exquisite signed late 19th/early 20th century interior oil painting on canvas by the renowned French-Austrian artist Rudolf Ernst (1854-1932). The painting depicting two figu...
Category

Late 19th Century Victorian Rudolf Ernst Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Rudolf Ernst paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Rudolf Ernst paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Rudolf Ernst in oil paint, paint, panel and more. Not every interior allows for large Rudolf Ernst paintings, so small editions measuring 31 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Georges Croegaert, Charles Theodore Frere, and Emile Godchaux. Rudolf Ernst paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $595,000 and tops out at $595,000, while the average work can sell for $595,000.

Recently Viewed

View All