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Lot Essay
Henri d'Estienne, a pupil of Jean-Lon Grme, left for Algeria on a travel grant won in 1900. Already an acclaimed Genre artist in France, Estienne became enthralled by Orientalist, and more specifically Algerian, scenes, earning him an even greater success. He was soon appointed painter to the Ministre des Colonies, and consequently exhibited with all the Orientalist societies in Paris or Algiers.
An Arab Girl carrying Bread presents a common scene in the life of a young Algerian girl, though this was rarely painted by artists. Indeed, children learned work skills very young and were expected to help the family with the daily tasks. Responsibility was assumed at a very young age. The work is painted in wonderfully warm and soft tones of yellow, orange, red, ochre, off-white and green, and romantically portrays this regal young beauty as a majestic icon of the harsh rural life of North African women.
An Arab Girl carrying Bread presents a common scene in the life of a young Algerian girl, though this was rarely painted by artists. Indeed, children learned work skills very young and were expected to help the family with the daily tasks. Responsibility was assumed at a very young age. The work is painted in wonderfully warm and soft tones of yellow, orange, red, ochre, off-white and green, and romantically portrays this regal young beauty as a majestic icon of the harsh rural life of North African women.