French School, 19th Century

Private collection, Austria

The support is flat, even, and ensuring a stable support. There is a pattern of drying craquelure throughout the composition as visible in the catalogue illustration. Ultra-violet light reveals areas of retouching notably along the lower and left edge, in the left side of the sitter's face, in the background and in other spots throughout. The general appearance of the work under normal light is good and the work is ready to hang. Presented in a decorative gilt frame.
"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."

Depicting a girl dressed in a red velvet jacket and a blue silk dress with stunning gilded embroidery, this portrait exemplifies nineteenth-century French taste for Orientalism and turqueries. The composition appears to have been inspired by a watercolour by Theophile-Emmanuel Duverger (1821 – circa 1901) for one of the plates in Auguste Wahlen’s book Mœurs, usages et costumes de tous les peuples du monde, d'après des documents and authentiques et les voyages des plus récents (1843-44) (fig. 1). The book was a detailed description of the customs and traditions of the people of Asia, Oceania, Europe, Africa and America illustrated with 191 coloured prints after watercolours by Duverger amongst other artists.

By the nineteenth century, relations between the Ottoman Empire and Europe had extended beyond diplomatic missions and military campaigns. Indeed, through commercial exchanges between the Sublime Porte and England and France in particular, Ottoman music, literature and fashion were fast making inroads into Western culture. It was therefore not unusual for aristocrats all around Europe to have their portraits painted in 'fancy' Ottoman costume, a tradition famously started a century earlier by the likes of  Jean Baptiste Greuze and Jean-Etienne Liotard, who won the sobriquet 'the Turkish Painter' for his portraits of members of the aristocracy in sumptuous Turkish attire.