Charles Landelle (French, 1812-1908)
THE PROPERTY OF A LADY
Charles Landelle (French, 1812-1908)

Algérienne jouant de la Darbouka

Details
Charles Landelle (French, 1812-1908)
Algérienne jouant de la Darbouka
signed and dated 'Ch. Landelle Alger 86-87' (lower left)
oil on canvas
54 1/4 x 38 in. (137.5 x 96.5 cm.)
Painted in 1886-7
Exhibited
Paris, Salon, 1887, no. 1374.

Lot Essay

Born in Laval in 1821, Landelle was encouraged to become a painter by Ary Scheffer, who was an acquaintance of Landelle's father through the Orléans court. Landelle registered at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1837 as a student of Paul Delaroche and made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1841. It was as soon as 1844 that the famous dealer Adolphe Goupil began representing Landelle, nevertheless, Landelle would not reach the zenith of his popularity until the Second Empire. At this time, through the dealer Theo van Gogh he gained the patronage of the Dutch King. It was the Dutch King, van Gogh, Goupil and the French Government who competed against each other for Landelle's painting titled Femme Fellah that was exhibited in 1866 and destroyed in 1871. Landelle sold the original to Emperor Napoleon III, and according to one of his cousins, painted some twenty copies for his rivals (one example is at the Musée Vieux-Château).

Although, Landelle's oeuvre is rich in subject matter that range from portraits and religious pictures to anecdotal historical scenes, he is best known for his Orientalist compositions. Between 1853 and 1877 Landelle visited North Africa and the Middle East five times. It is quite possible that he studied the textile as well as carpet designs and color combinations of North Africa very carefully, as Algérienne jouant de la Darbouka represents a clear understanding of the Oriental, both with regards to its laid back life style as well as its design aesthetic.

Landelle's many public commissions included pictures for the Parisian churches of Saint-Roch, Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois and Saint-Sulpice.

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