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Lot Essay
In 1885, following a series of travels to Spain, the Maghreb and Turkey, Ernst completely changed the subject of his compositions, moving from his typical genre subjects to Orientalist themes and styles. His imagination was fired by the glorious mosque interiors, the picturesque street scenes, and, above all, the sophisticated pastimes of Eastern women in their quarters. After his last trip to Constantinople in 1890, he developed refined skills in painting and decorating faïence tiles, techniques which he learned from the Parisian ceramist and glass-maker Léon Fargue. He took part in the 1889 and 1900 Exposition Universelles, after which he left Paris for Fontenay-aux-Roses, where, as did many of his Orientalist colleagues, he decorated his house with a large collection of Near Eastern artefacts, mashrabiyyah woodwork and painted tiles he had brought back from his travels.
A Royal Attendant in a Palace Interior is a typical example from Ernst's oeuvre. He painted with brilliant technical virtuosity and a great sense of color. The splendid wall in the background is decorated with ceramic tiles whose patterns recall the styles of Iznik and Damascus Pottery. This work strikingly demonstrates 'Ernst's exuberantly eclectic approach to his subjects, combining an intricate overlay of designs from different sources - Algerian, Turkish, and Hispano-Moresque' (U. R. Prunster, Orientalism, Delacroix to Klee, Art Gallery of New South Wales, exh. cat., December 1997-February 1998, p. 116).
A particularly relevant and striking comparable to the present work is An Elegant Chieftain in his Palace (sold, Christie's, New York, 31 October 2001, lot 15) where Ernst usues some of the same props as in the present work, such as the satin embroidered curtain in the background, as well as other similar variations of his favorite traditional elements such as the Damascus tiles and the mother-of-pearl coffee table.
(fig. 1) Rudolf Ernst, An Elegant Chieftain in his Palace, Private Collection.
A Royal Attendant in a Palace Interior is a typical example from Ernst's oeuvre. He painted with brilliant technical virtuosity and a great sense of color. The splendid wall in the background is decorated with ceramic tiles whose patterns recall the styles of Iznik and Damascus Pottery. This work strikingly demonstrates 'Ernst's exuberantly eclectic approach to his subjects, combining an intricate overlay of designs from different sources - Algerian, Turkish, and Hispano-Moresque' (U. R. Prunster, Orientalism, Delacroix to Klee, Art Gallery of New South Wales, exh. cat., December 1997-February 1998, p. 116).
A particularly relevant and striking comparable to the present work is An Elegant Chieftain in his Palace (sold, Christie's, New York, 31 October 2001, lot 15) where Ernst usues some of the same props as in the present work, such as the satin embroidered curtain in the background, as well as other similar variations of his favorite traditional elements such as the Damascus tiles and the mother-of-pearl coffee table.
(fig. 1) Rudolf Ernst, An Elegant Chieftain in his Palace, Private Collection.