HEADLINING THE WORKS of Egyptian interest in Sotheby’s sale of 19th Century European Paintings, including Orientalist Art, in London on Wednesday, June 2, 2010, was a striking view of Cairo – entitled Le Muezzin – by French Orientalist artist Jean-Léon Gérôme, which sold for £421,250 against an estimate of £350,000-500,000*.
Discussing the sale of the works with Egyptian themes in Sotheby’s 19th Century Paintings Sale, including Orientalist Art, Claude Piening, Senior Director, said: “We are delighted with the performance of the Orientalist component of our sale, in particular the prices achieved for the works of art of Egyptian interest. The great Orientalist masters, such as Gérôme and Girardet, were captivated by Egypt’s rich cultural legacy and natural beauty, and today’s results further demonstrate not only collectors’ demand for these great painters’ artistic interpretations and views, but also the timeless appeal of Egypt as a theme.”
Painted in 1865, the evocative painting Le Muezzin captures the moment on a hot afternoon when a muezzin begins his call to prayer atop a minaret, and Cairo falls silent below him. The high dome seen in the background of the scene is believed to be the famed mosque of Sultan Hassan. With great mastery, the celebrated artist evokes the utter stillness both of the city and of the desert air and the heat is made almost palpable to the viewer through the contrast between the shade cast by the minaret and the brilliant, hot light below.
A leading name of the Orientalist genre, Jean-Léon Gérôme visited Cairo many times and the details of this painting demonstrate both his encyclopaedic knowledge of the Middle East - recorded in sketches he made on location - and his profound respect for some of its most distinctive cultural traditions. He had a particular fascination for the colours and geometric spaces of Islamic architecture as well as a great respect for the straightforward, unselfconscious clergy-free prayer of Muslim worship and these are subject matters that are seen throughout his oeuvre. A strongly anti-clerical Frenchman himself, Gérôme admired the clergy-free independence of prayer that he encountered on his journeys to Egypt.
Other notable prices for Orientalist works with an Egyptian theme in the sale of 19th Century European Paintings include:
The Pyramids at Gizeh, Morning by Germany’s Ernst Koerner, sold for £49,250 (est. £40,000-60,000)
French artist’s Eugène Girardet’s Flight into Egypt, sold for £17,500 (est. £8,000-12,000)
Auguste Veillon’s The Temple of Philae, Aswan, sold for £17,500 (est. £10,000-15,000)
The Mosque of Khair Bek, Cairo by John Varley II, sold for £13,750 (est. £5,000-7,000)
The total achieved for the Orientalist Art component of Sotheby’s Sale of 19th Century European Paintings is £3,647,850.
