Rudolf Ernst

Sale: Christie's, New York, October 30, 2002, lot 85
Purchased by the present owner at the above sale

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: The painting is in very healthy condition. The panel is flat and unbroken and the paint layer is stable. An old crack or knot in the wood beneath the feet of the bear's trainer has been restored and there may be a few spots of restoration in the darkest colors of the trainer's hair and in the faces of the figures on the far left. However, this is academic and to be expected. Overall the condition is very good and the picture should be hung as it.
"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."

Unlike many Orientalist painters, who made great efforts to advertise that their compositions were conceived or executed 'on-the-spot', Ernst made no apologies for the imaginative craftsmanship that took place in his Paris studio.  The present work, painted long after his Middle Eastern travels were over, brings together a number of interesting vignettes and well-observed details that were probably never witnessed by Ernst in one place or at one time.  A little brown bear on a tattered prayer rug, dances to the beat of a gypsy's riqq, or tambourine.  The animal's posture mimics that of its bearded trainer, while the stick it grasps connects it to the modest audience it entertains.  Canes in hand, two of the men watch with interest, oblivious even to the arrival of their afternoon coffee.  Dancing bears would have been a common sight in Turkey and India at the time. The building in the background, with its beautiful ablaq, or light and dark stone courses and exterior stairwell, is typical of Mamluk and later Ottoman architecture in these countries.  Ernst's love of contrasting patterns and textures, as well as his skill as a fantastic storyteller, make An Afternoon Show one of the artist's most interesting and intriguing Orientalist compositions.

This catalogue note was written by Dr. Emily M. Weeks.