Showing posts with label GEORGES ROCHEGROSSE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GEORGES ROCHEGROSSE. Show all posts

01 Work, The Art of War, Georges Rochegrosse's Andromaque, with footnotes

Georges Rochegrosse  (1859–1938)
Andromaque, c. 1883
ENGRAVING 
4795 x 3350
Musée des beaux-arts de Rouen en France

This is a distinctly surprising work, where the atrocities of war are depicted with raw violence – severed heads, pools of blood, lifeless bodies stretched out on the ground or hanging from the wall – at the same time as candid eroticism, such as Andromache's swelling bosom: an appealing show of female nudity placed well in view.

The subject of this painting by Rochegrosse is the sacrifice of Astyanax, the son of Hector's wife Andromache, at the end of the Trojan War, when Astyanax is torn from his mother's arms and thrown from the ramparts of Troy by Odysseus, the Greek hero. More on this painting

Andromaque is a tragedy in five acts. The play takes place in the aftermath of the Trojan War, during which Andromache's husband Hector, son of Priam, has been slain by Achilles and their young son Astyanax has narrowly escaped a similar fate at the hands of Ulysses, who has unknowingly been tricked into killing another child in his place. More on Andromaque

Georges Antoine Rochegrosse (2 August 1859 – 7 November 1938) was a French historical and decorative painter.

He was born in Versailles and studied in Paris with Jules Joseph Lefebvre and Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger. His themes are generally historical, and he treated them on a colossal scale and in an emotional naturalistic style, with a distinct revelling in horrible subjects and details.

He made his Paris Salon début in 1882 with Vitellis traîné dans les rues de Rome par la populace (Vitellius dragged through the streets of Rome by the people) (1882; Sens). He followed this the year afterwards with Andromaque (1882–83; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen), which won that year's prestigious Prix du Salon. There followed La Jacquerie (1885; Untraced), Le mort de Babylone (The fall of Babylon) (1891; Untraced), The death of the Emperor Geta (1899; Musée de Picardie, Amiens), and Barbarian ambassadors at the Court of Justinian (1907; Untraced), all of which exemplify his strong and spirited but sensational and often brutal painting. In quite another style and beautiful in colour is his Le Chevalier aux Fleurs (The Knight of Flowers) (1894; Musée d’Orsay, Paris; RF 898).

He was elected an Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1892 and received the Medal of Honour in 1906 for The Red Delight. Rochegrosse also illustrated several books. Some of the drawings for these illustrations are in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, London. He lived his final years in Algeria, but returned to Paris where he died and is buried in Montparnasse Cemetery. His wife, Marie Rochegrosse (née Leblond), had died in 1920. More on Georges Antoine Rochegrosse




Please visit my other blogs: Art CollectorMythologyMarine ArtPortrait of a Lady, The OrientalistArt of the Nude and The Canals of VeniceMiddle East Artists365 Saints365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.


11 Orientalist Paintings by Artists from the 19th Century, with footnotes, #15

Orientalism is a term that is used for the depiction of aspects in Middle Eastern cultures. It refers to the works of the Western artists on Oriental subjects, produced from their travels in Western Asia, during the 19th century. Depictions of Islamic "Moors" and "Turks" can be found in Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque art. A creative apprehension of a completely different world with its own laws, customs, special attitude towards life and death, love, feelings, and beauty. Wikipedia/Yana Naumovna Lukashevskaya

Henri ROUSSEAU, 1875 - 1933 
Les cavaliers - 1919 
Huile sur panneau 
h: 46 w: 55 cm
Private collection

Henri Rousseau Henry, Emilien Rousseau (Cairo 1875 - Aix-en-Provence in 1933) is an Orientalist painter. A pupil of Jean-Léon Gérôme at the Beaux Arts in Paris, he won the second Grand Prix de Rome in 1900 and a travel grant at the Salon of French Artists. He traveled to Belgium, the Netherlands, North Africa, Spain and Italy where he admired the great masters (Rubens, Rembrandt, Velasquez, Murillo, the Titian, Raphael etc ...)

After this initiatory journey, he settled in Versailles and set up his studio at the Villa des Arts in Paris. In 1919 he moved to Aix in Provence with his large family (seven children). Knight of the Legion of Honour in arts. His work  is dedicated to Tunisia, Algeria and especially Morocco, Provence and the Camargue remained its anchor points. His success was with a bourgeois and wealthy clientele, where he sold his work at numerous exhibitions in Paris, Brussels, Stockholm, Marseilles. More Henri Rousseau

Henry PONTOY, 1888 - 1968 
Souk sheep/ Sheep Market
Oil on canvas 
h: 81 w: 100 cm
Private collection

Henri Pontoy, born in Reims on 5 February 1888 and died in 1968, was a French painter. Pontoy entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, in the studio of Luc-Olivier Merson. In 1926 he was awarded a travel grant by the French Colonial Society of French Artists, which enabled him to travel to North Africa, notably in Tunisia, where he became a member of the Salon Tunisien in the same year, and then went to Morocco and In French West Africa . He lived several years around 1930 in Ouarzazate. He became professor of arts and letters at the Moulay Idriss high school in Fez . He is the winner of the 1933 Grand Prize of the city of Algiers. He left after the Second World War, in 1947, to Guinea, Ivory Coast and Cameroon . He received the prize of Cameroon in 1951. His fresh palette, airy and warm colors, both in oils and in watercolors, had always met a great success. He was one of the last French representatives of Orientalism. More on Henri Pontoy

Jacques MAJORELLE, 1886 - 1962 
The Mokhazni 
Oil on canvas 
h: 80 w: 80 cm 
Private collection

The Mokhazni, a tribe in Morocco 

Jacques Majorelle (March 7, 1886 - October 14, 1962), son of the celebrated Art Nouveau furniture designer Louis Majorelle, was a French painter. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Nancy in 1901 and later at the Académie Julian in Paris with Schommer and Royer.

In 1919 he went to Marrakech, Morocco to recover from heart problems. He returned to France in 1962 after a car incident and died later that year of complications from his injuries. More on Jacques Majorelle 

Léon-Adolphe-Auguste Belly, SAINT OMER 1827 - PARIS 1877
BIG RIDDEN CAMEL GRAZING, STUDY FOR PILGRIMS GOING TO MECCA
Oil on canvas
60,5 x 50 cm ; 23 3/4 by 19 3/4 in.
Private collection

Léon Auguste Adolphe Belly (1827–1877) was a French landscape painter. He was born at St. Omer, in 1827. He studied under Troyon, and in 1849 visited Barbizon where he came under the influence of Théodore Rousseau.

In 1850–1 he travelled to Greece, Syria, and the Black Sea. In 1853 he made his debut at the Paris Salon, exhibiting four landscapes of Nablus and Beirut, and of the shores of the Dead Sea, which attracted critical acclaim. In 1855–6 he visited Egypt, travelling up the Nile in the company of another painter, Edouard Imer. A second trip to Egypt in 1856 was largely spent making studies for his painting Pilgrims going to Mecca, now in the Musée d'Orsay (below).

As well as his paintings of Middle Eastern subjects he painted portraits and landscapes of Normandy and the Sologne throughout his career, and in 1867 bought land at Montauban. He died in Paris in 1877. More on Léon Auguste Adolphe Belly

Léon-Adolphe-Auguste Belly, SAINT OMER 1827 - PARIS 1877
Pilgrims going to Mecca, c. 1861
Oil on canvas
Height: 1,610 mm (63.39 in). Width: 2,420 mm (95.28 in).

For this work, regarded, from the moment it was presented, to be a masterpiece of Orientalist painting, Belly chose to present an ambitious subject on a canvas of unusually large size. It depicts a long caravan crossing the desert, making its way towards Mecca, Islam's holiest city and place of pilgrimage for all Muslims.

Léon-Adolphe-Auguste Belly, SAINT OMER 1827 - PARIS 1877, see above


Adolf Meckel von Hemsbach, BERLIN 1856 - 1893 BERLIN, éCOLE ALLEMANDE
BEDOUINS IN THE DESERT, c. 1891
Oil on canvas, unframed
181 x 266 cm ; 71 1/4 by 104 3/4 in
Private collection

The Bedouin is a grouping of nomadic Arab peoples who have historically inhabited the desert regions in North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, and the Levant. The English word bedouin comes from the Arabic badawī, which means "desert dweller" and is traditionally contrasted with ḥāḍir, the term for sedentary people. They are traditionally divided into tribes, or clans and share a common culture of herding camels and goats. More on The Bedouin 

Adolf Meckel of Hemsbach (* 17th February 1856 in Berlin ; † 24. May 1893 ) was a German landscape and genre painter. After the early death of his father, he spent his childhood with the maternal grandparents in Saint Petersburg. He studied painting at the Karlsruhe Academy of Fine Arts in Hans Gude. From 1880 to 1881 he visited the Arab countries of Egypt , Palestine , the coast of the Dead Sea, in Jordan. Further journeys led him to the countries of the North African Maghreb . Among others, he visited St. Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai . Besides the tropical landscapes he created numerous orientale genre scenes. After his final return he was initially based in Karlsruhe, then moved in 1892 back into his own country.

Meckel regularly presented his work at the Royal Academy of Arts in Berlin exhibition, the Great Berlin Art Exhibition, as well as in Munich Glass Palace. He also exhibited in Dresden, Stuttgart and Vienna. In 1893, he took his own life. More on Adolf Meckel of Hemsbach

School of Paul Emil Jacobs,  (1802–1866)
The Pasha's Favourite (Ali Pasha and Kira Vassiliki), c. 1844
Oil on canvas
102.5 × 123 cm (40.4 × 48.4 in)
Private collection

Vassiliki Kontaxi, nicknamed Kyra Vassiliki, Lady Vassiliki, 1789 – 1834) was an influential Greek woman brought up in the seraglio of the Ottoman ruler Ali Pasha. Vassiliki was born in the Greek village of Plisivitsa in Thesprotia. At the age of twelve she sought an audience with the local Ottoman ruler, Ali Pasha, to intercede for her father's life. Having granted her father pardon, Ali Pasha married Vassiliki in 1808 and she joined his harem. Being allowed to practice her Christian faith, she interceded on behalf of Greeks. During this period she undertook a number of charity initiatives. In 1819–20 she financed a number of restoration works in Mount Athos.

In January 1822, during the last stage of the siege of Ioannina by the Ottoman Sultan's forces, Vassiliki together with Ali Pasha and his private guard escaped to Ioannina Island. Ali Pasha was executed there on January 22 by an Ottoman delegation, having being declared an outlaw by the Sultan. Following Ali's death, Vassiliki was sent as a prisoner to the Ottoman capital, Constantinople. She was later pardoned and returned to Greece, which meanwhile gained its independence after the successful Greek War of Independence (1821–30). In 1830, the Greek state gave Vassiliki a medieval tower in Katochi, where she lived the rest of her life. She died in 1834. More on Kyra Vassiliki

Paul Emil Jacobs (August 20, 1802 in Gotha – January 6, 1866) was a German painter. Jacobs received his art training at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts and first became known for his painting of Mercury and Argus (from Classical mythology). In 1824 he went to Rome, where he attracted critical attention by painting "The Raising of Lazarus". In 1836 he made a series of historical paintings at the Welfenschloss in Hannover.

Jacobs was noted for his mastery of nudes, expressed particularly in the representation of such Orientalist themes as "A slave market" or of sleeping and waking boys. His image of Scheherezade from Arabian Nights is noted for its light effects. The famous Ali Pasha was depicted by Jacobs in a moment of relaxed intimacy with his favorite mistress (or wife) Kira Vassiliki (above).

Like many Europeans of his generation, Jacobs shared in the Philhellene sympathy for the Greek War of Independence, which took place when he was in the early stage of his artistic career. This was manifested in his painting very sympathetic pictures of "Greek Freedom Fighters".

Jacobs was also a portrait painter. Lithographed portraits by him include those of Goethe, Karl Gottlieb Bretschneider and Döring.

In 1844, Jacobs created the monumental altarpiece "Calvary", for St. Augustine's Church in Gotha. It was removed from St. Augustine's in 1939, and since 1998 the altarpiece has been located in the church of Hohenleuben. More on Paul Emil Jacobs

Raymond Auguste Quinsac Monvoisin
Ali Pasha with his favourite mistress Kira Vassiliki, c. 1846
Oil on canvas
height: 91.4 cm (35.9 in); width: 74.9 cm (29.4 in)
Private collection

Raymond Auguste Quinsac Monvoisin (May 31, 1790 – March 26, 1870) was a French artist and painter.

Monvoisin was born in Bordeaux. At the age of eighteen Monvoisin fully dedicated himself to painting. He moved from Bordeaux to Paris and was employed at the workshop of Pierre Guérin. He studied in the Académie des Beaux-Arts of France, and his work soon earned him the support of the critics. He was hired by merchants, bankers and other members of the newly emerging middle-class. In 1819 he carried out his first exposition in the Museum of the Louvre. The fame he achieved in his own country earned him the Legion of Honor. After obtaining recognition in Paris, he travelled to Italy where he obtained a scholarship to study in Villa Medici in Rome.

Monvoisin travelled to Argentina and from there to Chile. He received an official invitation from the Chilean government to direct the Academy of Painting. Preceded by his fame, he was introduced to the high-class families of the capital and, in turn, to work as a successful portrayer. 

He dedicated his efforts to many different activities during his stay in Chile. He traveled through the country, invested in mines, and created a ranching estate Along with French painter Clara Filleul, he mobilized the pictorial art in Chile and Argentina. He was elevated to a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1857, and returned to France in 1858, but his fame had vanished.

He died in poverty in 1870 at Boulogne-sur-Mer. More on Raymond Monvoisin

Charles-Zacharie Landelle, LAVAL 1812 - 1908 CHENNEVIÈRES-SUR-MARNE
THE FELLAH LADY
Oil on canvas
131 x 84 cm ; 51 1/2 by 33 in.
Private collection

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".

A fellah could be seen wearing a simple cotton robe called galabieh (jellabiya). The word Galabieh originated around 1715–25 and derived from the Egyptian Arabic word gallabīyah. More on Fallah

Zacharie Charles Landelle, born on 2 June 1821 In Laval, the October 13 , 1908 In Chennevières-sur-Marne, is a French painter and portraitist. Born to a modest family. In 1857 he married Alice Letronne, daughter of the general of the guard Jean-Antoine Letronne who saved the National Archives in 1848 . Two sons, Georges and Paul, were born of this union, all of whom died during the lifetime of their father.

He followed his father  to Paris 1827. He only return to his hometown only at the end of his life.

He developed a talent and a very solid craft at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris where he was admitted in 1837 as a pupil of Paul Delaroche and Ary Scheffer . At the beginning of his career, he painted several portraits to support himself. Influenced by Italian paintings after traveling in the South of France and Italy, he made copies of some of the paintings by the great masters of the Renaissance at the Louvre.

His portraits and large religious paintings were instantly successful, and allowed him to gain the recognition of the high society of the nineteenth century. Napoleon III admired him very much, bought from him the two canvases of the Beatitudes ( 1852 ) to offer them to the city of Laval. He received numerous state commissions.

From his travels in North Africa and the Middle East in the 1860s , he created works that were often very successful. His first voyage to Morocco dates from 1866. In 1866 he painted Femme Fellah, which earned him the nickname of a painter of the fellahs , a work purchased by the Emperor for his personal collection, but destroyed in the fire at the Château de Saint-Cloud in 1870. A replica, executed By Charles Landelle, is preserved in the museum of the Old Castle of Laval.

In 1875 , he is in Egypt, and travels the Nile with the explorer Mariette . He travelled each year to the East, or Algeria and returned with paintings. At the end of his life, Charles Landelle encouraged the creation in Laval of a museum of painting which he inaugurated in 1895, at the height of his glory, alongside the President of the Republic : it is the current Science Museum. More on Zacharie Charles Landelle

Georges Rochegrosse, 1859 - 1938, FRENCH
IDLE MOMENTS
Oil on canvas
54 by 65cm., 21¼ by 25¾in.
Private collection

Georges Antoine Rochegrosse (1859–1938) was a French historical and decorative painter. He was born at Versailles and studied in Paris with Jules Joseph Lefebvre and Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger. His themes are generally historical, and he treated them on a colossal scale and in an emotional naturalistic style, with a distinct revelling in horrible subjects and details. He made his Paris Salon début in 1882 with Vitellis traîné dans les rues de Rome par la populace (Vitellius dragged through the streets of Rome by the people) (1882; Sens). He followed this the year afterwards with Andromaque (1882–83; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen), which won that year's prestigious Prix du Salon. There followed La Jacquerie (1885; Untraced), Le mort de Babylone (The fall of Babylon) (1891; Untraced), The death of the Emperor Geta (1899; Musée de Picardie, Amiens), and Barbarian ambassadors at the Court of Justinian (1907; untraced), all of which exemplify his strong and spirited but sensational and often brutal painting. In quite another style and beautiful in color is his Le Chevalier aux Fleurs (The Knight of Flowers) (1894; Musée d'Orsay, Paris; RF 898). More on Georges Antoine Rochegrosse

He was elected an Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1892 and received the medal of honor in 1906 for The Red Delight. Rochegrosse also illustrated several books. Some of the drawings for these illustrations are in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, London. He lived his final years in Algeria, but returned to Paris where he died and is buried in Montparnasse Cemetery. His wife, Marie Rochegrosse (née Leblond), had died in 1920.

Fabio Fabbi, 1861-1946, ITALIAN
THE BLUE VEIL
Oil on canvas
70 by 40cm., 27.5 by 15¾in.
Private collection

Fabio Fabbi was born in Bologna, Italy in 1861. As a young man, he enrolled at the Accademia Di Belle Arti in Florence and studied sculpture and painting in the 1880s, winning prizes in both categories. After his studies, he travelled to Paris, Munich, and Egypt, which was the inspiration for his Orientalist subjects. 

Upon his return to Italy, he dedicated himself solely to painting and was honoured with the distinction of professorship at the Accademia.

Fabbi's depictions of odalisques and bazaars which were well-received by the public, and his output was prolific. From 1884 onward, Fabbi regularly contributed to exhibitions in Turin, Milan and Florence. More Fabio Fabbi

John William Waterhouse
IN THE HAREM, AN ODALISQUE
oil on canvas
46 by 27cm., 18 by 10½in
Private collection

John William Waterhouse (April 6, 1849 – February 10, 1917) was an English painter known for working in the Pre-Raphaelite style. He worked several decades after the breakup of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which had seen its heyday in the mid-nineteenth century, leading to his sobriquet "the modern Pre-Raphaelite". Borrowing stylistic influences not only from the earlier Pre-Raphaelites but also from his contemporaries, the Impressionists, his artworks were known for their depictions of women from both ancient Greek mythology and Arthurian legend.
Born in Italy to English parents who were both painters, he later moved to London, where he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Art. He soon began exhibiting at their annual summer exhibitions, focusing on the creation of large canvas works depicting scenes from the daily life and mythology of ancient Greece. Later on in his career he came to embrace the Pre-Raphaelite style of painting despite the fact that it had gone out of fashion in the British art scene several decades before. More John William Waterhouse



Acknowledgement: Sotheby's and others

Please visit my other blogs: Art CollectorMythologyMarine ArtPortrait of a Lady, The OrientalistArt of the Nude and The Canals of VeniceMiddle East Artists365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.


12 Orientalist Paintings by Artists from the 19th Century, with footnotes, #17

Orientalism is a term that is used for the depiction of aspects in Middle Eastern cultures. It refers to the works of the Western artists on Oriental subjects, produced from their travels in Western Asia, during the 19th century. Depictions of Islamic "Moors" and "Turks" can be found in Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque art. A creative apprehension of a completely different world with its own laws, customs, special attitude towards life and death, love, feelings, and beauty. Wikipedia/Yana Naumovna Lukashevskaya

Arthur Melville, (1858–1904)
A Moorish Procession, Tangier, c. 1893
Watercolour on paper
59.30 x 79.80 cm
National Galleries of Scotland

Melville conveys the atmospheric clamour of a local parade led by drummers and pipers. He evokes its exotic character, underlined by the colourful clothes and hooded cloaks of the participants, with his 'blottesque' technique. The resulting blurred edges and striking accents of pure colour, from pigment applied onto wet paper, suggest a wonderful sense of movement in brilliant sunlight. The vibrant city of Tangier attracted many artists, and Melville, inspired by his friend the painter Joseph Crawhall, visited it twice in the spring of 1890 and 1893. More on this painting

Arthur Melville (1858–1904) was a Scottish painter, best remembered for his Orientalist subjects. He was born in Guthrie, Angus in 1858 and brought up in East Lothian. He attended the Royal Scottish Academy Schools before studying in Paris and Greece. The colour-sense which is so notable a feature of his work developed during his travels in Persia, Egypt and Turkey between 1880 and 1882. To convey strong Middle Eastern light, he developed a technique of using watercolour on a base of wet paper with gouache applied to it.

Melville, little known during his lifetime, was one of the most powerful influences in the contemporary art of his day, especially in his broad decorative treatment with water-colour, which influenced the Glasgow Boys. Though his vivid impressions of color and movement are apparently recorded with feverish haste, they are the result of careful deliberation and selection. He was at his best in his watercolors of Eastern life and colour and his Venetian scenes, but he also painted several striking portraits in oils. More on Arthur Melville

ALFRED AGACHE (1843 - 1915)
Enigme, c.  1888
Oil on canvas, 
2,80 m x 1,69 m, 
Musée des Beaux Arts de Rouen.

The title of the work, Enigma, is explicit: the picture itself is this enigma. In the Salon of 1888 where it is presented, it is was accompanied by a poem by Edmond Haraucourt (1856-1941)  "Priestess of the enigma and daughter of the mystery / I keep under heaven the secrets which he wishes to make / And I know the future as a fait accompli. / But I have closed my austere soul / In the pride of silence and the peace of forgetfulness. ".

The modernity of the energetic pattern of this canvas still strikes us today; The planes are largely brushed and articulated angularly. The contrasts of light and color are brought to their paroxysm. The iconographic elements are rare and deliberately chosen, whether it be the Egyptian motif painted on the wall or the admirable giant poppy flowers, the red blood of which slices on the orange of the background. 

ALFRED AGACHE, (1843 - 1915)
Enigme, c.  1888
Detail

This mysterious woman could be a Parque, a subject dear to Agache, or Isis as the hieroglyphic suggests, or an archetype of the femme fatale. In any case this flower of forgetfulness thrown on the steps, this mask that the woman has just taken off. More on Enigma

Alfred-Pierre Joseph Agache (29 August 1843 – 15 September 1915), also known simply as Alfred Agache, was a French academic painter. Little is known of Agache's life. He was born in Lille, France, and exhibited his work frequently in Paris until his death. He seems to have specialized in portraits and large-scale allegorical paintings. He was a member of the Société des Artistes Français, and won a third-class medal in 1885 for his work. He may have been friends with American painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler and French writer Auguste Angellier; the latter dedicated a book to him around 1893.

Two of his pieces, "Vanity" and "The Annunciation", were shown at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893. He was awarded the Légion d'honneur. He died in Lille in 1915. More on Alfred-Pierre Joseph Agache

Alfred Choubrac, PARIS 1853 - 1902
SCHEHERAZADE AND THE SULTAN, c. 1878 
Oil on canvas
131 x 90 cm 51 1/2 by 35 1/2 in.
Private collection

Alfred Choubrac (1853–1902) was a French painter, illustrator, draughtsman, and poster artist.

His posters were very influential and famous during World War II. His most famous poster is that of Au Joyeux Moulin Rouge, based on the popular Parisian nightclub Moulin Rouge. He contributed to the satirical weekly Le Courrier français.

He was the younger brother of Léon Choubrac, also a poster artist. More on Alfred Choubrac

Oliver Dennett Grover, 1861 - 1927
Harem Scene (also known as The Finishing Touch), c. 1899
Oil on canvas 
195.58 cm (77 in.), Width: 167.64 cm (66 in.)
Swope Art Museum  (United States - Terre Haute, Indiana)

Oliver Dennett Grover (1861 Earlville, Illinois – 1927 Chicago), was an American landscape and mural painter. Grover's family moved to Chicago early in his life. There he spent much of his time sketching at the Academy of Design. Showing great promise he was enrolled at Munich’s Royal Academy in 1879, where he studied under Frank Duveneck. At the age of 19 he exhibited at Munich’s International Exposition. Grover followed Duveneck to Venice and Florence, and then went on to study in Paris from 1883 to 1885 under Gustave Boulanger, Jean-Paul Laurens and Lefebvre.

He returned to Chicago in 1885 and was appointed as an instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago for five years, also opening a studio and founding the Western Art Association. Between 1887 and 1892 he served on the faculty of the Chicago Art Academy. Ada Walter Shulz was among his pupils.

Grover became an Associate of the National Academy of Design in 1913. During the last years of his life, he also became a board member of the Association of Arts and Industries which was a major influence in Chicago design in the 1920s and 1930s.  More on Oliver Dennett Grover

GUILLAUME SEIGNAC, (1870–1924) 
Odalisque
Oil on canvas
55.5 by 46.5cm., 22 by 18¼in.
Private collection

An odalisque was a chambermaid or a female attendant in a Turkish seraglio, particularly the court ladies in the household of the Ottoman sultan. An odalık was not a concubine of the harem, but a maid, although it was possible that she could become one. An odalık was ranked at the bottom of the social stratification of a harem, serving not the man of the household, but rather, his concubines and wives as personal chambermaids. Odalık were usually slaves given as gifts to the sultan by wealthy Turkish men. Generally, an odalık was never seen by the sultan but instead remained under the direct supervision of his mother, the Valide Sultan. More on An odalisque

Guillaum Seignac (1870–1924) was a French academic painter. He was born in Rennes in 1870, and died in Paris in 1924. He started training at the Académie Julian in Paris, where he spent 1889 through 1895. He had many teachers there, including Gabriel Ferrier, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and Tony Robert-Fleury. In addition to his training in the academic style, much of Seignac's work displayed classical themes and style, for example, his use of diaphanous drapery covering a woman's body is reminiscent of classical style, in particular the sculptor Phidias. In 1897, Guillaume Seignac regularly exhibited at the Salon and won several honors, including in 1900 honorable mention and in 1903 a Third Class medal. More Guillaum Seignac



Jean-Léon Gérôme, French, 1824-1904
LA GRANDE PISCINE À BRUSA (THE GREAT BATH AT BURSA)
Oil on canvas
70 by 100.5cm., 27 1/2 by 39 1/2 in.
Private collection

This splendid evocation of ladies lounging around an octagonal hot pool in a Turkish bath is set under the great dome of the caldarium in Yeni Kaplica, Bursa’s ‘New Baths’ built in 1552 from designs possibly by the Master Builder Sinan. Bursa had been the ancient capital of the Ottoman Empire before the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. By the time the present work was executed in 1885 Gérôme had moved away from heroic history painting towards archeological accuracy and objective realism. More on this painting

Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism. The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits and other subjects, bringing the Academic painting tradition to an artistic climax. He is considered one of the most important painters from this academic period, and in addition to being a painter, he was also a teacher with a long list of students. More on Jean-Léon Gérôme

GEORGES ROCHEGROSSE, (1859–1938)
Idle Moments, c. 1888
Oil on canvas
54 by 65cm., 21¼ by 25¾in.
Private collection


Georges Antoine Rochegrosse (1859–1938) was a French historical and decorative painter. He was born at Versailles and studied in Paris with Jules Joseph Lefebvre and Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger. His themes are generally historical, and he treated them on a colossal scale and in an emotional naturalistic style, with a distinct revelling in horrible subjects and details. He made his Paris Salon début in 1882 with Vitellis traîné dans les rues de Rome par la populace (Vitellius dragged through the streets of Rome by the people) (1882; Sens). He followed this the year afterwards with Andromaque (1882–83; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen), which won that year's prestigious Prix du Salon. There followed La Jacquerie (1885; Untraced), Le mort de Babylone (The fall of Babylon) (1891; Untraced), The death of the Emperor Geta (1899; Musée de Picardie, Amiens), and Barbarian ambassadors at the Court of Justinian (1907; untraced), all of which exemplify his strong and spirited but sensational and often brutal painting. In quite another style and beautiful in color is his Le Chevalier aux Fleurs (The Knight of Flowers) (1894; Musée d'Orsay, Paris; RF 898). More on Georges Antoine Rochegrosse


RICARDO VILLEGAS CORDERO, 1849 - 1896
The storyteller
Oil on canvas
58 by 41cm., 23 by 16in.
Private collection

Ricardo Villegas Cordero ( Seville , 1849 - 1896 ) was a Spanish painter. He was the brother of painter Jose Villegas Cordero , better known than he. 2 He drowned in the river Guadalquivir , after falling from the boat where he traveled.

His presented works at the National Exhibition of 1887. He received a gold medal second class at the International Exhibition of Munich in 1888. In the National Exhibition of 1890 he presented a painting titled La muerte de Viriato , which represented the assassination of the Lusitanian leader. He also produced painting in the orientalist and North African Style. More on Ricardo Villegas Cordero 

Lalla Essaydi, Moroccan, b. 1956
Les Femmes du Maroc: Harem #11, 2009
Chromogenic prints (c-print) mounted on aluminum, in three parts
40 x 30 in. (101.6 x 76.2 cm.)
Private collection

Moroccan born photographer Lalla Essaydi explores Arab female identity by hand-painting Arabic calligraphy in henna on different surfaces such as female bodies, fabric and walls. Through her compositions, Essaydi references nineteenth century Orientalist style and rejects traditional objectified representations of Arab women. The artist critiques French painters such as Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and Eugène Delacroix who often painted middle-eastern harems filled with eroticized Arab female bodies. Her photographs address and deconstruct the complex power structures imposed on the Arab female body by alluding to historical stereotypes. 

Lalla Essaydi, Moroccan, b. 1956
Harem, #12

In her series Harem, Essaydi refers to the dangerous nature of the harem, contrasting the idealistic setting that Western artists previously depicted. The artist places her figures within the Moroccan Palace Dar El Basha and dresses them in patterns similar to the palace’s mosaics, wood carvings and stained glass. By camouflaging the women’s bodies into the background, Essaydi illustrates how women seemingly appear as another piece of décor in the room. To counter societal norms, Essaydi utilizes calligraphy and applies henna to adorn the female bodies. The text is not necessarily meant to be read or understood, but rather alludes symbolically to the restrictions faced by women in today’s societies and how they find their voice despite all imposed restrictions. Through the perspective of an Arab woman living in a Western world, Lalla Essaydi redefines Arab female identity. More on Lalla Essaydi

Lalla Essaydi, Moroccan, b. 1956
Harem, #15 (2009)

Théodore Chassériau,  (1819–1856)
Orientalist Interior: Nude in a Harem, c. between 1850 and 1852
Oil on panel
Height: 46 cm (18.1 in). Width: 38 cm (15 in).
Private collection

Théodore Chassériau (September 20, 1819 – October 8, 1856) was a French Romantic painter noted for his portraits, historical and religious paintings, allegorical murals, and Orientalist images inspired by his travels to Algeria.

Chassériau was born in El Limón, Samaná, in the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic). In December 1820 the family left Santo Domingo for Paris, where the young Chassériau soon showed precocious drawing skills. He was accepted into the studio of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres in 1830, at the age of eleven, and became the favorite pupil of the great classicist, who regarded him as his truest disciple.

After Ingres left Paris in 1834 to become director of the French Academy in Rome, Chassériau fell under the influence of Eugène Delacroix, whose brand of painterly colorism was anathema to Ingres. Chassériau's art has often been characterized as an attempt to reconcile the classicism of Ingres with the romanticism of Delacroix. He first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1836, and was awarded a third-place medal in the category of history painting. In 1840 Chassériau travelled to Rome and met with Ingres, whose bitterness at the direction his student's work was taking led to a decisive break.

In 1846 Chassériau made his first trip to Algeria. From sketches made on this and subsequent trips he painted such subjects as Arab Chiefs Visiting Their Vassals and Jewish Women on a Balcony...

After a period of ill health, exacerbated by his exhausting work on commissions for murals to decorate the Churches of Saint-Roch and Saint-Philippe-du-Roule, Chassériau died at the age of 37 in Paris, on October 8, 1856. More on Théodore Chassériau




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