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Lot Essay
Born in Vrsac of Serbian parentage, Paul Joanovitch studied under Leopold Karl Mller, the Director of the Vienna Academy, himself an Orientalist painter. He made his debut in 1882 with a painting entitled Wounded which earned him a Hungarian State grant after its exhibition in Budapest. In the mid 1880s Joanovitch spent some years in Munich, during which time, from around the middle of the decade, he began to focus almost exclusively on Orientalist subjects.
The Snake Charmer dates from this period in Joanovitch's oeuvre, and provides a wonderful example of the vibrancy and colour of his Oriental scenes. The focal point of the painting, the standing man's pipe, leads the viewer's eye down to the snake, who is as mesmerised by the rhythmical tambourine as the onlookers are captivated by the animal's movement, to which only the charmer himself is immune.
The Snake Charmer dates from this period in Joanovitch's oeuvre, and provides a wonderful example of the vibrancy and colour of his Oriental scenes. The focal point of the painting, the standing man's pipe, leads the viewer's eye down to the snake, who is as mesmerised by the rhythmical tambourine as the onlookers are captivated by the animal's movement, to which only the charmer himself is immune.