Ludwig Deutsch

Sale: Christie's, London, 3 November 1977, lot 86)
Private collection (purchased at the above sale)
Acquired from the above by the present owner

The following condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar Ltd, 13 & 14 Mason's Yard, London SW1Y 6BU: UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural Condition The panel has been cradled and this is ensuring a sound and secure structural support. Paint surface The paint surface has an even varnish layer and inspection under ultra-violet light shows a thin horizontal line running in from the right vertical framing edge covering a repaired crack in the panel. This very thin line is approximately 36 cm in length and approximately 32 cm below the upper horizontal framing edge. The only other retouchings identifiable under ultra-violet light are a few spots around the framing edges. There is also a minimal horizontal hairline crack, approximately 6cm in length, running in from the left vertical framing edge, approximately 30 cm below the upper horizontal framing edge. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in very good and stable condition.
"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."

Among Ludwig Deutsch's most ambitious multi-figural compositions, and one of very few works in which children take centre-stage, the present work presents an original and informal vignette of daily life in Cairo. With touching observation, Deutsch presents the figures in various forms of study, from the young boys intently concentrating on their texts, to the older pupils behind them being questioned by their teacher, to the young men in front of the pillar watched over by a man depicted in an statuesque pose typical of the artist's academic mastery. Painted in the year of the artist's second known trip to Cairo, The Koranic School bears comparison with The Courtyard of Al-Azhar University, also of 1890 and shown at the Paris Salon, a larger work conveying the hustle and bustle of the site rather than the present contemplative interior (fig. 1).

One of the most revered Orientalists of the late nineteenth century, Ludwig Deutsch devoted himself almost exclusively to Cairene subjects from the early 1880s onwards. Deutsch masterfully captured everyday life on the streets of Cairo, favouring subjects from cafés, markets and mosques. An interest in Cairene architecture, religious ceremonies, Oriental furniture and local dress characterises the artist's oeuvre. Always described with breath-taking virtuosity, these elements form exquisitely detailed backdrops for the figures depicted.