Lot Essay
Abdul Hamid II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, was an avid supporter of the arts in his reign. For his grandiose projects, which include the construction of the Dolmabahçe Palace, he employed many European sculptors, architects and painters, among them Fausto Zonaro. Upon seeing his work, he was to confer the position of court painter to Zonaro in 1896, a position he retained until the end of Abdul Hamid II's reign in 1909. As a court painter to the Sultan, Zonaro was treading in the same footsteps as other Italian painters of the past, amongst them the illustrious Gentile Bellini, who resided with Mohammed II, between 1469 and 1470.
The Dolmabahçe promenade depicted here, shows the daughter of the artist in the foreground, probably Mafalda, taking in the atmosphere of a late afternoon along the Bosphorous. In the background we can see the Dolmabahçe Camii, a small mosque dating from 1853, part of the new development that had taken place in Constantinople. In the fading distance we can see Pera, the Genoese quarters of the town, which were becoming increasingly fashionable at the time. The painting thus depicts a thoroughly modern subject, the flanneur as described by Baudelaire in an urban environment. Elegant Turkish and European ladies mingle and sit beside the seaside, without any obvious purpose other than to see and be seen.
A sketch for this picture is recorded in R. Falchi and U. Spigno, Le tre Stagioni pittoriche di Fausto Zonaro, Turin, 1993, no. 89 and in C. Juler, Les Orientalistes de l'école italienne, Paris, 1992, p. 280.
Another smaller version of this painting is recorded in the collection of Mafalda Zonaro Meneguezer in Florence.
Sold with a photo-certificate from the artist's granddaughter, Iolanda Trevigne Meneguzzer, dated 29 Nov. 1996.
The Dolmabahçe promenade depicted here, shows the daughter of the artist in the foreground, probably Mafalda, taking in the atmosphere of a late afternoon along the Bosphorous. In the background we can see the Dolmabahçe Camii, a small mosque dating from 1853, part of the new development that had taken place in Constantinople. In the fading distance we can see Pera, the Genoese quarters of the town, which were becoming increasingly fashionable at the time. The painting thus depicts a thoroughly modern subject, the flanneur as described by Baudelaire in an urban environment. Elegant Turkish and European ladies mingle and sit beside the seaside, without any obvious purpose other than to see and be seen.
A sketch for this picture is recorded in R. Falchi and U. Spigno, Le tre Stagioni pittoriche di Fausto Zonaro, Turin, 1993, no. 89 and in C. Juler, Les Orientalistes de l'école italienne, Paris, 1992, p. 280.
Another smaller version of this painting is recorded in the collection of Mafalda Zonaro Meneguezer in Florence.
Sold with a photo-certificate from the artist's granddaughter, Iolanda Trevigne Meneguzzer, dated 29 Nov. 1996.