Alberto Pasini

Sale: Sotheby's, London, 16 November 2004, lot 221
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Turino, Esposizione Nazionale, 1880, no. 608

Vittorio Botteri Cardoso, Pasini, Genoa, 1991, p. 340, no. 700, catalogued and illustrated

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting is in beautiful condition. The canvas is unlined but the tacking edges have been reinforced to facilitate proper stretching. The paint layer is clean and lightly varnished. There are no damages or abrasions and no retouches. The condition is excellent 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."

Just outside the open doorway, a group of men converse.  Outfitted in heavy boots and coloured coats, and distinguished by their complex headgear, they recall the impressive bashi-bazouks, or irregular Ottoman soldiers, immortalized by contemporary photographers and, of course, by Jean-Léon Gérôme (see lots 108 & 120).  Their trio of horses, well-groomed, and well-behaved, turn their backs to the viewer, as they so often do in Pasini's compositions.  

In 1855, Alberto Pasini ventured well beyond the beaten track, visiting countries that were on few European travelers' itineraries. After an invigorating trip to Egypt, where he found 'a pictorial ambiance adapted to my nature, which is disposed to cheerful plays of light and color', Pasini toured Yemen and Oman.  He then spent eighteen months in the company of the Shah in Tehran before returning home, via the Black Sea and Constantinople, in 1856. In 1868-69, Pasini was again in Turkey and, in 1873, Syria and Lebanon. 

A pencil and bodycolour drawing by Pasini depicting a similar view was sold at Christie's on 27 November 1986, lot 179.