01 Paintings by the Orientalist Artists in the Nineteenth-Century, with footnotes, 38

Ferdinand Victor Léon Roybet, 1840-1920, FRENCH

DETAIL, THE FAVORITE OF THE HAREM

Oil on panel

20 3/4 by 25 1/2 in., 52.7 by 64.8 cm

Private collection

Ferdinand Victor Léon Roybet, 1840-1920, FRENCH

THE FAVORITE OF THE HAREM

Oil on panel

20 3/4 by 25 1/2 in., 52.7 by 64.8 cm

Private collection

Ferdinand Victor Léon Roybet (12 April 1840, Uzès - 11 April 1920, Paris) was a French painter and engraver; best known for his historical and costume genre scenes. His father was the owner of a café and a liqueur manufacturer who moved his family to Lyon in 1846. He began by studying engraving at the École nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon. After his father's death in 1863, he took his new wife and baby to Paris, where he studied with Jean-Georges Vibert and copied the Old Masters at the Louvre.

In 1865, after some financial hardships, he presented two paintings at the Salon and, the following year, achieved success when one of his works was purchased by Mathilde Bonaparte for 5,000 francs. He then decided to concentrate on costumed figures, mostly from the 18th century, and was awarded a contract for three canvases per month at an annual salary of 25,000 francs.

He was named a knight in the Legion of Honour in 1893 and many wealthy people among his clients; notably Cornelius Vanderbilt, who paid 100,000 francs for one of his works at the Palais de l'Industrie in 1893. He also painted many notable people in period costume.

Toward the end of his life, he turned to religious subjects, producing a tableau of 22 paintings depicting the Passion of Christ. After his death, in 1921, they were the subject of a special showing at the Salon. Six years later, the Musée Roybet Fould was established in Courbevoie by Consuelo Fould, who owned a large number of Roybet's paintings. More on Ferdinand Victor Léon Roybet

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, and The Canals of Venice

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.

01 Paintings by the Orientalist Artists in the Nineteenth-Century, with footnotes, 36

Raphael von Ambros, 1845-1895, AUSTRIAN

THE BAKER'S SHOP, CAIRO, c. 1889

Oil on panel

38.5 by 47cm., 15¼ by 18½in.

Private collection

Von Ambros established his reputation as a masterful observer of scenes of everyday life in Cairo, painted with the greatest attention to verisimilitude and detail.  

Here,  a woman wearing a black niqāb and a lapis lazuli necklace serves refreshments of freshly baked Egyptian flat bread known as aish baladi and bowls of milk or water bread to passers-by. Opening on to the street, her stall offers other local produce, including eggs and vegetables.


Von Ambros settled in Paris where he found a ready market for his Egyptian subjects. Inspired by his first hand observations during his travels, he was aided by sketches and no doubt by photography. More on this painting

Born in Prague, Raphael von Ambros was a pupil of Hans Makart (1840-1884) at the famous Vienna Academy, where he would have studied alongside an extraordinary generation of Orientalist painters such as Jean Discart (French, 1856-1944), Ludwig Deutsch (1855-1935) and Rudolf Ernst (1854-1932). Like his contemporaries, Ambros found the perfect audience for his Cairo street scenes at the Paris Salon, where he exhibited from 1887. More on Raphael von Ambros

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, and The Canals of Venice

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.

01 Paintings by the Orientalist Artists in the Nineteenth-Century, with footnotes, 37

Paul Joanowits, 1859 - 1957, SERBIAN

BASHI-BAZOUKS BEFORE A GATEWAY,  circa 1887-88

Oil on panel

46 by 35cm., 18 by 14¾in.

Private collection

Bashi-bazouks were irregulars in the Ottoman army and hailed from lands across the Ottoman empire, from Egypt to the Balkans. The strain on the Ottoman feudal system caused by the Empire's wide expanse required heavier reliance on irregular soldiers. They were armed and maintained by the government, but did not receive pay and did not wear uniforms or distinctive badges. Because not formally trained, they could not serve in major military operations, but were useful for other tasks such as reconnaissance and outpost duty.

The two soldiers, in all their regalia, converse in an Egyptian setting, the gate topped by Mamluk carvings and flanked by East African 'Grandees' chairs', amalgams of Mamluk, Portuguese, and Indian influence. Both men are armed with Ottoman flintlock rifles from Algeria, and the standing guard smokes an Ottoman chibouk pipe with a tophane bowl. On the left, a seventeenth-century Ottoman Tulip-period Tombak ewer rests on the arm of one of the chairs. More on Bashi-bazouks

Paul Joanowits, 1859 - 1957, was born in Vršac, formerly southern Hungary and today Serbia. He studied at the Vienna Academy from 1876 to 1883 under K. L.Müller. From there he sent his first painting to the art society in Budapest, earning him a Hungarian state scholarship. Like his teacher, he painted oriental images, in Vienna and later in Munich. During the late 19th century he painted scenes of the Serbian uprising for King Alexander of Serbia. Back in Vienna, his main interest lay in painting portraits, amongst which is a picture of Emperor Francis Joseph I. Joanovitch exhibited in Vienna, Munich and Berlin and today his works can be found in museums in Belgrade, Budapest, London, Munich and Vienna. More on Paul Joanowits

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, and The Canals of Venice

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.

01 Paintings by the Orientalist Artists, Paul Joanowits' Bashi-bazouks before the gate, with footnotes, #21

Paul Joanowits, 1859 - 1957, SERBIAN

Bashi-bazouks before the gate, c.  1887-88.

Oil on panel

46 by 35cm., 18 by 14¾in.

Private collection

Bashi-bazouks were irregulars in the Ottoman army and hailed from lands across the Ottoman empire, from Egypt to the Balkans. The strain on the Ottoman feudal system caused by the Empire's wide expanse required heavier reliance on irregular soldiers. They were armed and maintained by the government, but did not receive pay and did not wear uniforms or distinctive badges. Because not formally trained, they could not serve in major military operations, but were useful for other tasks such as reconnaissance and outpost duty.

Both men are armed with Ottoman flintlock rifles from Algeria, and the standing guard smokes an Ottoman chibouk pipe with a tophane bowl.  More on Bashi-bazouks

Paul Joanowits, 1859 - 1957, was born in Vršac, formerly southern Hungary and today Serbia. He studied at the Vienna Academy from 1876 to 1883 under K. L.Müller. From there he sent his first painting to the art society in Budapest, earning him a Hungarian state scholarship. Like his teacher, he painted oriental images, in Vienna and later in Munich. During the late 19th century he painted scenes of the Serbian uprising for King Alexander of Serbia. Back in Vienna, his main interest lay in painting portraits, amongst which is a picture of Emperor Francis Joseph I. Joanovitch exhibited in Vienna, Munich and Berlin and today his works can be found in museums in Belgrade, Budapest, London, Munich and Vienna. More on Paul Joanowits

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 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.

01 Paintings by the Orientalist Artists in the Nineteenth-Century, with footnotes, 20

Raphael von Ambros, 1845-1895, AUSTRIAN

MERCHANT BEFORE THE SABIL OF NAFISA AL-BAYDA, CAIRO

Oil on panel

46 by 31cm., 18 by 12¼in.

Private collection

This Ottoman building built by Nafisa al-Bayda dates back to the year of 1796 AD.

Nafisa al-Bayda began her life as a slave and then was married in the mid 1700s to a man of power in the state named Ali Bey. Afterwards, she married the wealthy Murad Bey who was at first a Mamluk, but then later rose to power in 1784 and became the leader of the resistance against the Napoleon Bonaparte invasion.


Lady Nafisa al-Bayda, meaning the white one, was a woman of beauty, wealth, charity and known to be of great culture. She is also a symbol for womens participation in those days to the political life. During her husbands resistance, she played a major role in helping him acting as an intermediate between him and Napoleon. More on Nafisa al-Bayda

Born in Prague, Raphael von Ambros was a pupil of Hans Makart (1840-1884) at the famous Vienna Academy, where he would have studied alongside an extraordinary generation of Orientalist painters such as Jean Discart (French, 1856-1944), Ludwig Deutsch (1855-1935) and Rudolf Ernst (1854-1932). Like his contemporaries, Ambros found the perfect audience for his Cairo street scenes at the Paris Salon, where he exhibited from 1887. More on Raphael von Ambros

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, and The Canals of Venice

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.

01 Paintings by the Orientalist Artists in the Nineteenth-Century, with footnotes, 19

Charles Wilda, 1854 - 1907, GERMAN

A SOUK IN CAIRO, c. 1887

Oil on panel

63 by 47cm., 25 by 18½in.

Private collection

Open air markets in Old Cairo are called a “souk” in Arabic. You’ll find these types of markets in all Middle Eastern countries.  The tradition of buying and selling, haggling and bargaining among the crowds has being going on for centuries already.

Charles Wilda (born December 20, 1854 in Vienna as Karl Wilda , † June 11, 1907 ibid) was an Austrian painter of Viennese Orientalism . Wilda studied as a pupil of the painter Leopold Carl Müller at the Vienna Academy . He belonged to the center of Austrian Oriental painting.

In his paintings, the daily life in Cairo, where he frequented, played the most important role. His paintings have titles such as "The Snake Charmer" or "The Storyteller". In 1892 he undertook an Egyptian journey with the same-age sculptor Arthur Strasser.

Since 1880s, he exhibited almost regularly at the Vienna Annual Exhibition , the Berlin International Art Exhibition , the Munich Annual Exhibition or the Dresden International Art Exhibition . At the Paris World Exposition in 1900 he was well represented with some of his works. 


The tomb of Charles Wilda at the Vienna Central Cemetery, designed by Hella Unger, 1909. More on Charles Wilda

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

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.