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Ancient Egypt is famous for its timeless beauties. Surrounded by a rich historic and urban heritage, and embroiled in the uncertainties of revolution, Egypt's contemporary artists are using the female form to express hopes and fears for the future...
Wilhelm Kotarbiński, (1848–1921)
Cleopatra
Oil on canvas
135 × 246 cm (53.1 × 96.9 in)
Private collection
Wilhelm Kotarbiński (born 30 November 1848, Nieborów; died 4 September 1921, Kiev) was a Polish Symbolist painter of historical and fantastical subjects who spent most of his working life in Ukraine. He began his studies at the Warsaw School of Art from 1867 to 1871. Afterward, he enrolled at the University of Warsaw, urged on by his parents who were opposed to an artistic career, but stayed for only a short time before borrowing money from his uncle and moving to Italy. The following year, he was able to arrange a stipend from the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts and enrolled at the Accademia di San Luca, where he studied with Francesco Podesti until 1875, living in poverty and barely surviving a case of typhoid.
Wilhelm Kotarbiński (1848–1921)
Egyptian, c. 1900
Oil on canvas
125 x 63 cm
Private collection
After graduating, with more help from the Imperial Society, he was able to set up his own studio in Rome and held his first solo exhibition. His first commission came from the art critic Vladimir Stasov, who engaged him to copy a 14th-century manuscript from the Vatican Museums. He soon acquired many wealthy customers.
In 1888, he left Italy to go to Kiev and work on an upcoming project, and began painting in the local churches. Although he was Catholic, he did decorative work at the Orthodox St Volodymyr's Cathedral from 1889 to 1894. Under the supervision of Adrian Prakhov, an expert on old Russian and Byzantine art, he worked on 84 individual figures and 18 full paintings, including a large painting of the transfiguration of Christ.
In 1890, he joined the Union of South Russian Artists and, in 1893, together with Jan Stanisławski and others, founded the Society of Kiev Painters. He was named an Academician of the Imperial Academy in 1905. More on Wilhelm Kotarbiński
John Singer Sargent, (1856–1925)
Egyptian Woman or Coin Necklace, c. 1891
Oil on canvas
64.8 cm (25.51 in.), Width: 50.8 cm (20 in.)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
John Singer Sargent (January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. His oeuvre documents worldwide travel, from Venice to the Tyrol, Corfu, the Middle East, Montana, Maine, and Florida.
John Singer Sargent, (1856–1925)
Egyptian Woman, c. 1890–91
Oil on canvas
25 1/2 x 21 in. (64.8 x 53.3 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
He was trained in Paris prior to moving to London. Sargent enjoyed international acclaim as a portrait painter, although not without controversy and some critical reservation; an early submission to the Paris Salon, his "Portrait of Madame X", was intended to consolidate his position as a society painter, but it resulted in scandal instead. From the beginning his work was characterized by remarkable technical facility, particularly in his ability to draw with a brush, which in later years inspired admiration as well as criticism for a supposed superficiality. His commissioned works were consistent with the grand manner of portraiture, while his informal studies and landscape paintings displayed a familiarity with Impressionism. In later life Sargent expressed ambivalence about the restrictions of formal portrait work, and devoted much of his energy to mural painting and working en plein air. He lived most of his life in Europe. More on John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent - 1891
Nude Study of an Egyptian Girl
Painting - oil on canvas
Height: 190.5 cm (75 in.), Width: 61 cm (24.02 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago (United States)
The nude Egyptian Girl, I believe, is the only female nude that Sargent did in oil. As the name implies, the painting was done in Egypt on his trip there to do research for the Boston Public Library murals. In some ways it harks back to the Velazquez's Venus at her Mirror. Like Sargent, this was Velazquez's only female nude and both men paint their subject facing away. Although it is not known for sure that Venus at her Mirror was the painting that influenced Sargent's Egyptian Girl, the importance of Velazquez work in influencing Sargent's art is well documented and if it wasn't on his mind, the coincidences are remarkable. Notice, particularly, the very delicate modulation of skin color in Sargent's painting which Velazquez used as well. More on this painting
Karel Ooms (1845–1900)
The woman of Cairo, c. 1865-1900
Oil on canvas
Height: 65.5 cm (25.8 in). Width: 46 cm (18.1 in).
Private collection
Karel Ooms (27 January 1845, Dessel - 18 March 1900, Cannes) was a Belgian painter of portraits, genre paintings and history paintings. He was also known for his Orientalist scenes and Oriental landscapes. He was born in Dessel. At school his extraordinary talent for drawing was discovered. When he was twelve his hometown provided financial support which allowed him to study at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts.
Karel Ooms settled as an independent artist in Antwerp around 1871. He quickly established a reputation as a portrait painter. In addition he received commissions for religious paintings and history paintings. He gained particular recognition with two large paintings he made for the criminal courtroom of the Antwerp Courthouse.
Karel made many travels in Europe and the Middle East. His travels to Palestine and Egypt are documented through the landscape paintings he made on location. In the Middle East he found abundant inspiration for his Orientalist paintings. More on Karel Ooms
Luis Ricardo Falero, (1851–1896)
Egyptian Woman with Harp, c. 1874
Oil on panel
39 x 23.5 cm
Private collection
Luis Ricardo Falero (1851 – December 7, 1896), Duke of Labranzano, was a Spanish painter. He specialized in female nudes and mythological, oriental and fantasy settings.[1] Most of his paintings contained at least one nude or topless female. His most common medium was oil on canvas.
Falero was born in Granada and originally pursued a career in the Spanish Navy, but gave it up to his parents' disappointment. He walked all the way to Paris, where he studied art, chemistry and mechanical engineering. The experiments that he had to conduct in the latter two were so dangerous, however, that he decided to focus on painting alone. After Paris, he studied in London, where he eventually settled.
Falero had a particular interest in astronomy and incorporated celestial constellations into many of his works, such as "The Marriage of a Comet" and "Twin Stars". His interest and knowledge of astronomy also led him to illustrate the works of Camille Flammarion. More on Luis Ricardo Falero
Michelangelo
Cleopatra, c. 1533-34
Black chalk on paper
225 x 170 mm
Casa Buonarroti, Florence
This highly decorative, virtuoso drawing was one of a series of gifts for Tommaso de' Cavalieri, a young artist whom Michelangelo wished to teach and of whom he was deeply fond. The elder painters's celebrated draftsmanship is visible in the extreme twist of head and neck, known as 'serpentinata' - perhaps a play on words, given the fatal, coiling asp.
In many of his drawings Michelangelo created ideal portraits of women, in which he frequently emphasized the beauty of the female figures with imaginative hair styles plaited with scarves, other fabrics, or pieces of jewellery and adorned with exquisite headdresses and similar accessories. These portraits were in keeping with Florentine traditions, influenced by the works of Sandro Botticelli, Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Piero di Cosimo. More on this painting
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (March 1475
– 18 February 1564), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect,
poet, and engineer of the High Renaissance who exerted an unparalleled
influence on the development of Western art. Despite making few forays beyond
the arts, his versatility in the disciplines he took up was of such a high
order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal
Renaissance man, along with contemporary rival and fellow Florentine Medici
client, Leonardo da Vinci.
A
number of Michelangelo's works in painting, sculpture, and architecture rank
among the most famous in existence. His output in every field of interest was
prodigious; given the sheer volume of surviving correspondence, sketches, and
reminiscences taken into account, he is the best-documented artist of the 16th
century.
Two
of his best-known works, the Pietà and David, were sculpted before the age of
thirty. Despite his low opinion of painting, Michelangelo also created two of
the most influential frescoes in the history of Western art: the scenes from
Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and The Last Judgment on
its altar wall. As an architect, Michelangelo pioneered the Mannerist style at
the Laurentian Library. At the age of 74, he succeeded Antonio da Sangallo the
Younger as the architect of St. Peter's Basilica. Michelangelo transformed the
plan, the western end being finished to Michelangelo's design, the dome being
completed after his death with some modification.
In his lifetime he was also often called Il Divino
("the divine one"). One of the qualities most admired by his
contemporaries was his terribilità, a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur, and it
was the attempts of subsequent artists to imitate Michelangelo's impassioned
and highly personal style that resulted in Mannerism, the next major movement
in Western art after the High Renaissance. More on Michelangelo
Henri Guillaume Schlesinger, (1814-1893)
An Egyptian Girl Preparing for the Bath, c. 1869
Oil On Canvas
90 x 117.5 cm, (35.43" x 46.26")
Private collection
Henri Guillaume Schlesinger (6 August 1814 in Frankfurt am Main , died on 21 February 1893 in Neuilly-sur-Seine ) was a German painter of portraits and genre. Besides his oil painting, he used watercolor painting, and miniature painting on ivory.
Schlesinger studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where he was active initially. He oved to Paris and continued his artistic education. In the period 1840-1889, he exhibited his work at the Paris Salon . Henri Guillaume Schlesinger in 1837 realizes several official portraits including a large equestrian portrait of Sultan Mahmud II . In 1870-1871 years he lived in London .
Schlesinger received the Legion of Honor in 1866, and his French citizenship in 1870. More on Henri Guillaume Schlesinger
Franz Xavier Kosler, (Austrian ,1864-1906)
Portrait of a young Egyptian girl, Cairo 1900
Oil on canvas
23 3/4 x 17 1/4 in. (60.3 x 43.8 cm.)
Private collection
In Egypt Kosler opened a one-man exhibition, in Cairo, in 1894. The show was a great success and secured Kosler many wealthy Egyptian clients including Prince Said Halim Pasha, the grandson of Mehemet Ali Pasha, the future Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, who commissioned a series of portraits from the artist.
Franz Xavier Kosler (Austrian, 1864-1905), born in Vienna in 1864, was one of the most celebrated Orientalist painters of his generation. Kosler began his artistic studies at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste (The Academy of Fine Arts) in Vienna, studying under the renowned Austrian Orientalist artist Leopold Carl Müller. Highly influenced by his work Kosler went on to follow in his tutor's footsteps travelling abroad to paint the Near East firsthand, depicting richly coloured genre scenes and tender close-up portraits of young sitters dressed in traditional clothing, echoing the work of his mentor. Setting off in 1886, Kosler travelled to Dalmatia, Montenegro, Albania and Egypt, returning to the latter two years after he had returned to Vienna in 1866, sponsored by Archduke Ferdinand Karl. More on Franz Xavier Kosler
Jacques Clement Wagrez, French. 1846-1908
Cleopatra
Oil on canvas
I have no further description, at this time
Wagrez Jacques Clement, born in 1846 or 1850 in Paris where he died in 1908, is a genre painter , illustrator and designer. Jacques Clement followed the course of Fine Arts under the direction of master Isidore Pils and of Henri Lehmann , a pupil of Ingres . He enrolled in the studio of Jules Eugène Lenepveu before leaving Italy for a study tour. The Venetian and Florentine renaissance inspired his subjects and scenery. In 1870 he sent to the salon his first watercolors and portraits that earned him great fame. More on Jacques Clement Wagrez
Guido Bach, (1828-1905)
An Egyptian Woman Carrying a Brace of Chickens, Cairo, 1876
Watercolor
Height: 54 cm (21.26 in.), Width: 37 cm (14.57 in.)
Private collection
Guido Bach (1828-1905) was a German portrait and genre painter and watercolorist. He studied from 1843 to 1847 at the Academy of Fine Arts Dresden in Julius Hübner, mainly with the watercolors. Guido Bach visited Italy, Bohemia and Egypt. He created portraits and images from the Italian village life, as well as images from the life of the North African Arabs.
Since 1862 he lived in London. There he exhibited his works at the Royal Institute and at the Royal Academy of Arts (1880 and 1883), and at the Grosvenor Gallery from. His works "The Golden Age" and "Feathered Friends" found recognition at the Royal Academy. At the Dresdner watercolor exhibition he participated 1887th. More on Guido Bach
Guido Bach, (1828-1905)
An Egyptian Mother and her Children, 1876
Watercolor
Height: 59.5 cm (23.43 in.), Width: 44.5 cm (17.52 in.)
Private collection
Laetitia Mathilde, Princesse Bonaparte
Une fellah, c. 1861
92 x 63 cm
Huile et détrempe sur papier
Nantes, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Fellah is a farmer or agricultural laborer in the Middle East and North Africa. The word derives from the Arabic word for "ploughman" or "tiller".
Due to a continuity in beliefs and lifestyle, the fellahin of Egypt have been described as the "true" Egyptians. More on Fallah
Mathilde Laetitia Wilhelmine Bonaparte, Princesse Française (27 May 1820 – 2 January 1904), was a French princess and Salon holder. She was a daughter of Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte and his second wife, Catharina of Württemberg, daughter of King Frederick I of Württemberg. More on Mathilde Laetitia Wilhelmine Bonaparte
Statue of an Offering Bearer of wood
Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12
Reign:early reign of Amenemhat I
Gesso, paint from Egypt
Metropolitan Museum of Art
This masterpiece of Egyptian wood carving was discovered in a hidden chamber at the side of the passage leading into the rock cut tomb of the royal chief steward Meketre, who began his career under King Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II of Dynasty 11 and continued to serve successive kings into the early years of Dynasty 12. Together with a second, very similar female figure (now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo) this statue flanked the group of twenty two models of gardens, workshops, boats, and a funeral procession that were crammed into the chamber's narrow space. More on this Sculpture
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