Rudolf Ernst

Lynn Thornton, Women as Portrayed in Orientalist Painting, Paris, 1994, p. 156, illustrated

The artist's panel has had two vertical batons on the reverse, one of which is now missing. The structural condition is however sound and stable. The paint surface fluoresces quite unevenly under ultra-violet light making the surface quite difficult to read, however, small spots of retouching are visible in the lower right corner to the left of the signature, on and beside the box in the lower left of the composition, in the chin and neck of the girl seated on the left of the composition, and in scattered spots throughout. The picture is in overall good condition and ready to hang. Held in an elaborate gilt frame.
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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."

Ernst's fascination with Islamic culture was sparked by his journeys to Spain and north Africa in the early 1880s and to Turkey and Egypt in the 1890s, and his paintings reflect the breadth of his knowledge. This and the previous lot are testament to his eye for detail, from the Ottoman gilt metal-thread embroidered portière and Ladik carpet in A Quiet Moment, to the mashrabiyya (latticed woodwork), onyx columns, Chelaberd Kazak rug and mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell inlaid chest in The Wool Spinners. Ernst's observations are minutely observed, based on sketches made in the field, or on photographs and props brought back from his travels. He even decorated his Paris studio, where he completed his paintings, in an eclectic eastern style, in which he would paint his models wearing a taboosh, the better to transpose himself into the world he was trying to evoke.