Lot Essay
Possibly a pendant to the picture of the same size exhibited at the Paris Salon 1881, no. 925 (see L. Thornton, The Orientalists Painter-Travellers, 1828-1908, Paris, 1983, p. 57 (illus. in colour).
Frère painted Jerusalem from the viewpoint of the Mount of Olives which is to the north east of the Holy City, separated from it by the valley of the Cedron, which 19th Century books recommended to travellers for its commanding vista. Frère depicted Jerusalem's wonderful skyline silhouetted with domes and minarets. Details include the impressive crenellated city walls and bastions built by the Turkish sultan, Suleyman I, in the early 16th Century, as well as the dome of the Holy Sepulchre, the Golden Gate and on the Temple Mount (or Haram es Sherif), the El Aqsa mosque and the imposing Dome of the Rock.
After living in Algiers (see note to lot 12) Frère went to Syria, Palestine, Egypt (see note to lot 47) and Nubia by way of Malta, Greece, Constantinople, and Smyrna in 1851.
Frère painted Jerusalem from the viewpoint of the Mount of Olives which is to the north east of the Holy City, separated from it by the valley of the Cedron, which 19th Century books recommended to travellers for its commanding vista. Frère depicted Jerusalem's wonderful skyline silhouetted with domes and minarets. Details include the impressive crenellated city walls and bastions built by the Turkish sultan, Suleyman I, in the early 16th Century, as well as the dome of the Holy Sepulchre, the Golden Gate and on the Temple Mount (or Haram es Sherif), the El Aqsa mosque and the imposing Dome of the Rock.
After living in Algiers (see note to lot 12) Frère went to Syria, Palestine, Egypt (see note to lot 47) and Nubia by way of Malta, Greece, Constantinople, and Smyrna in 1851.