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.
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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
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Bedouin at Prayer, Orientalist Oil Painting on Panel by Rudolf Ernst
By Rudolf Ernst
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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
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Austrian, 1854-1932
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Signed 'R. Ernst'
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Large Oil Painting of A Dervish Man Rudolf Ernst
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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...
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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.