Frederick Arthur Bridgman

Sale: Claude Aguttes, Neuilly-sur-Seine, 19 December 2002, lot 133
Mathaf Gallery Ltd., London

London, Royal Academy, 1910, no. 521 (as Spain in the Days of the Moors)

Original canvas. There are scattered minor flecks of retouching visible under ultraviolet light, notably to the upper right corner and to a small (approx. 1 cm.) crsecent-shaped repair (with corresponding patch on the reverse) to the upper left of the work. Apart from some scattered very fine craquelue, this work is in very good condition, with bright colours and a strong surface, and ready to hang. Held in a decorative, gold-painted moulded plaster and wood frame with a name plate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A colourfully-dressed young woman gazes at reflections in a crystalline pool, in a verdant courtyard similar to those in the Alhambra in Spain. Bridgman's introduction to Oriental taste came in 1872 when he moved from Paris to the Pyrenees and came into contact with the bright Mediterranean light and Moorish heritage of Spain, the inspiration for the present work.

Bridgman's subjects, while infused with the light and colour of the Orient, were nevertheless founded on his academic training in the studio of Jean-Léon Gérôme. In true academic fashion, his finished paintings were worked up from sketches made on the spot, and the present work, with its minutely observed architectural detail, would have been no exception. An exhibition in New York of over three hundred works by Bridgman at the American Art Gallery in 1881 included finished canvases, but the major part of the exhibition consisted of sketches, praised for their 'frankness, their fidelity, their freshness, their beauty.'

Embracing a more naturalistic aesthetic, Bridgman's later works such as the present display a freer technique, featuring more light and intense colour. In 1899 a critic wrote: 'Mr. Bridgman now paints with a freer, juicier brush than he used some years ago, he has got almost entirely away from Gérôme, his is no longer photographic, his colour [...] is often more ingeniously applied, and like so many of his fellows he is aiming for decorative effect' ('Gallery and Studio: Frederick A. Bridgman's Recent Pictures', Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 22 January 1899, p. 28, as quoted in Ilene Susan Fort, Frederick Arthur Bridgman and the American Fascination with the Exotic Near East, vol. I and II, Ph.D. diss., City University of New York, 1990, p. 429).