Martinus Rorbye Drammen 1803-1848 Copenhagen

Anonymous sale, Copenhagen, Rasmussen's, May 26, 2003, lot 1124, to Galerie Philippe Heim.

On November 18, 1839, Rørbye wrote in his diary about his encounter with a "Nubian," whom he decided to sketch.  (see H. Honour, L'Image du Noir dans l'Art Occidental, Paris 1989, vol. II, p. 44).  He recounted how he convinced the man to sit shirtless by a potted orange tree and smoke a cigarette while the painter recorded his appearance.  This incident postdates by a mere month Rørbye's arrival in Rome after a long journey, in the course of which he spent long periods in several places, including Switzerland and Paris.  The historical context in which this picture was painted is crucial; it can be linked to the abolishment sentiments then growing throughout Europe.  In 1792, Denmark, where Rørbye grew up and was trained after his family left Norway, was the first European country to do away with slave trade. France abolished slavery in 1848 and Rorbye was in France as the movement gathered momentum.  One could suggest that these events made a strong impression on the painter, and that this portrait functions as an echo of these rising social changes, beyond the appeal carried by any image imbued with exoticism. 

There is a similar composition by Rørbye  dated 1839 in the Niels Arne Ravn-Nielsen collection, Charlottenlund, Denmark, (see H. Honour, L'Image du Noir dans l'Art Occidental, Paris 1989, vol. II, p. 43).