The Arms Merchant

During the early years of his career, Rudolf Ernst focused his work upon portraits and genre subjects. It was only his visits to Morocco and Constantinople in 1886 that encouraged him to expand upon his subject matter, drawing from wider sources of inspiration. This expansion proved beneficial to his success as a painter, as it was with his Orientalist works that he achieved the greatest critical acclaim, catapulting him alongside Austria's foremost Orientalist painter, Ludwig Deutsch. With the object, fabrics and artefacts that he gathered on his travels he 'dressed' his compositions. Ernst's exceptional mastery lies in his ability to combine layers of genuine artefacts in order to create outstanding fantasy. Details such as the 19th century Egyptian bronze oil lamp depicted here, the beautiful tiles in the background and the flowing robe of the Elder call to mind a genuine scene from the Orient.
In the present work, Ernst faithfully adheres to the mood and culture that he would have experienced during his travels. Having taken his camera on these trips he would have been able to document not only the essence of these locations, but the intricate details that are so important in order to truly represent a convincing and powerful image as the present work. The Elder carefully pours the oil in the lamp. With almost photographic precision, Ernst paints the robe, the silken sash and turban.