Ludwig Deutsch

Lt. Colonel Walter Graham Murray, D.S.O., Twyford House, Twyford, Hampshire, England (circa 1900)
Thence by descent to the present owner

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting is in beautiful condition. It is painted on a single piece of mahogany which is unbroken and flat. The paint layer is stable, clean and lightly varnished. There are no retouches and the picture should be hung as is.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Ludwig Deutsch is today one of the most recognized Orientalist painters of the nineteenth century, acclaimed for his highly detailed, exquisitely rendered images of daily life in Cairo.  After studying at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, Austrian-born Deutsch settled in the thriving art capital of Paris, where he joined his compatriot and fellow Orientalist painter, Rudolf Ernst.  Between 1879 and 1883, Deutsch exhibited portraits and genre scenes at the Salon, but after 1883 he drew inspiration almost exclusively from his travels to Egypt.  Deutsch was thought to have visited Egypt as many as five times between 1883 and 1904.  He made many on the spot sketches which he brought back to his studio in Paris.  From these sketches and the large collection of Near Eastern artifacts, mashrabiyyah woodwork, and painted tiles that decorated his studios in Paris and the South of France, Deutsch created numerous visual accounts of his experiences. His incredible artistic skill together with his choice of subject set him apart from many of his contemporaries: "Deutsch has a keen eye for small gestures and individual expressions that give his people life and character.  The themes he chose art quiet and peaceful: domino- and chess-players, Muslims at prayer, public scribes, armed guards, street entertainers, and merchants..." (quoted in exh. cat., Orientalism, Delacroix to Klee, The Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1997, p. 240).

In The Lamp Lighter Deutsch depicts a humble figure perched atop a stepping stool, carefully filling a canister with oil.  His elegant features are enhanced by the luminous quality of his skin; his navy robe with fine white vertical stripes tied tightly with a piece of rope. He stands on a prayer rug or small piece of embroidery, engrossed in the task at hand.  Each element of the scene is rendered with painstaking detail and an obvious interest in historical accuracy: the stone and wood surfaces emblazoned with intricate carvings; the rubbed patina of the heavy wooden door and the missing pieces of ironwork; the flaking paint on the step ladder; the broken handle on the earthenware jug (which was was the medieval "watercooler"). Whereas Deutsch's numerous depictions of sentinels and palace guards brandishing their jeweled weapons and draped in exquisite fabrics conjure images of political power and material wealth, The Lamp Lighter speaks to the grace and humility found in even the smallest acts of servitude.

It is interesting to note that the architecture in The Lamp Lighter is truly observed, while in many of Deutsch's paintings the setting is more a "collage" of various structures. The inscription above the marble panels identifies the interior as a mosque of the late Mamluk period and since Deutsch painted the interior of the Mosque of Aqsunqur (The Blue Mosque), the interior of this mosque could possibly be that of the Amir Qijmas al-Ishaqi, 1480, located on the same street as that of Aqsunqur.

Deutsch's decision to depict a lamp lighter perhaps reflects a deeper understanding of the religious devotion of his subjects: "In Islamic worship light had a special significance, borrowed in a large part from the Church, over and above its practical consideration.  Ibn al-Faqih believed that al-Mu'awiyah was the first to use oil lamps to illuminate the Ka'bah and, writing at about the turn of the tenth century, reported that some sixteen hundred lamps were being lit every evening in Jerusalem.  About a century later al-Maqdisi observed that in the mosques of al-Sham oil lamps were kept lit continuously and suspended on chains as at Makkah.  By 'Abbasid times such lamps had become a regular part of mosque furniture.  In fact it is recorded that the caliph al-Ma'mun decreed the placing of lamps in all mosques with the dual purpose of preventing crime and facilitating the study of the Qur'an" (Paul Wheatley, The Places Where Men Pray Together, University of Chicago Press, 2000, p. 236).  Typically made of enameled glass, these lamps signified divine light and, by extension, the presence of God in the mosque.  The source for the significance of mosque lamps is the Qur'an:

God is the Light of the heavens and the earth;
the likeness of His Light is as a niche
wherein is a lamp
(the lamp in a glass,
the glass as it were a glittering star)
kindled from a Blessed Tree,
an olive that is neither of the East nor of the West,
whose oil well nigh would shine, even if no fire touched it;
Light upon Light;
(God guides to His Light whom He will)

We would to thank Caroline Williams for kindly contributing to this catalogue entry.