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Lot Essay
This exquisite scene of an Eastern interior is exemplary of Ernst's fascination with original Orientalist iconographies. In particular, the Austrian artist seems inspired by the representation of that area of the Eastern mansion which stands in between the more intimate apartments of the house, and the brightly lit outside - which, in his most interesting versions, varies from the countryside to the street, from a sunny terrace to a narrow alley. The exploration of this theme allows Ernst to stretch his iconographical corpus, revisiting the traditional interpretation of gender and social relationships in the 19th Century Orient.
An example of Ernst's original way of treating this subject matter is The Flower Maidens (Private Collection), where the artist does not focus on the depiction of the woman and the man alone, secluded in their secret apartments - the man in the selamlk, the woman in the haremlk, the two distinct parts of the Oriental household - but on the encounter of the couple in the mansion's elegant portico. Similarly, the present picture features the meeting of two young maidens, a young boy and an old man. The four unusual protagonists, of different ages and genders, are harmoniously involved in handling and sorting the rose petals and buds. Through Ernst's brushstroke, the subtle exploration of the social dynamics between different generations becomes the pretext for a sumptuous chromatic feast, where the intense pink of the rose buds contrasts the turquoise of the simple, sophisticated jars where the flowers are pressed into essences and perfumes.
An example of Ernst's original way of treating this subject matter is The Flower Maidens (Private Collection), where the artist does not focus on the depiction of the woman and the man alone, secluded in their secret apartments - the man in the selamlk, the woman in the haremlk, the two distinct parts of the Oriental household - but on the encounter of the couple in the mansion's elegant portico. Similarly, the present picture features the meeting of two young maidens, a young boy and an old man. The four unusual protagonists, of different ages and genders, are harmoniously involved in handling and sorting the rose petals and buds. Through Ernst's brushstroke, the subtle exploration of the social dynamics between different generations becomes the pretext for a sumptuous chromatic feast, where the intense pink of the rose buds contrasts the turquoise of the simple, sophisticated jars where the flowers are pressed into essences and perfumes.