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Lot Essay
Marius Bauer's predilection for the Orient was apparent before he had ever visited the region. He was inspired by the writings of his contemporaries Lodewijk van Deyssel of the 'Beweging van Tachtig' literary movement and Marcellus Emants who had travelled to India in 1892/3. The commission in 1894 to illustrate the Oriental story Akkdyssiril by Villiers de l'Isle Adam, prompted Bauer to begin producing drawings and etchings with Indian subjects. It was not until 1897 that Bauer actually set foot on Indian soil. This first journey lasted four months and took him from Bombay to Benares, Agra, Gwalior, Muttra, Dig, Bindraban, Delhi, Jaipur, Udeipur, Ajmer, Palitana, Baroda and Hyderabad. The numerous sketchbooks in which he documented his journey and the many letters and travel accounts he sent to friends and the weekly magazine 'De Kroniek' give us a wonderful insight into the deep impression India had on him.
The previous and the present lot are extraordinary examples of the work which resulted from his travels through India. The present lot, depicting a colourful procession with elephants leaving a palace gate, was painted circa 1918 and predates the enchanting pair of paintings with remarkably similar subjects. These were executed around 1926 following Bauer's second journey to British India.
It is noteworthy that Bauer painted these works some time after his actual visit. This goes some way in explaining the almost otherwordly atmosphere which permeates these works. Bauer is able to combine a precise eye for details in architecture, costumes and the complex working of light in ancient Indian cities with a certain idealisation from memory which infuses the whole with a sense of the magical. Following his return from India he wrote; "Het vreemde diorama is afgelopen, is voorbij gegaan. Maar nu komt het tweede genot dat der herinnering, schooner nog dan de werkelijkheid. Het minder mooie en de Westerse nasmaak verdwijnt, en er rest een wonderland van paleizen en tempels, bevolkt met onafzienbare rijen van bontgekleurde oosterlingen, van rijkgetooide paarde-stoeten van kamelen en drommen olifanten. De herinnering verzacht de schaduwen van het licht, werpt een doorzichtige sluier over de werkelijkheid en verandert haar in een droombeeld waarvan de kleuren nooit zullen verflauwen." (Mariëtta Jansen, Marius Bauer, 1867-1932, Heino/Wijhe 1991, pp. 28 and 32)
It is precisely this 'transparent veil' which Bauer describes that forms a large part of the appeal of these paintings. According to Bauer it is not the depiction of reality alone which forms the challenge in art but envisioning the chimerical, to heighten reality with an impression of the mythical.
The previous and the present lot are extraordinary examples of the work which resulted from his travels through India. The present lot, depicting a colourful procession with elephants leaving a palace gate, was painted circa 1918 and predates the enchanting pair of paintings with remarkably similar subjects. These were executed around 1926 following Bauer's second journey to British India.
It is noteworthy that Bauer painted these works some time after his actual visit. This goes some way in explaining the almost otherwordly atmosphere which permeates these works. Bauer is able to combine a precise eye for details in architecture, costumes and the complex working of light in ancient Indian cities with a certain idealisation from memory which infuses the whole with a sense of the magical. Following his return from India he wrote; "Het vreemde diorama is afgelopen, is voorbij gegaan. Maar nu komt het tweede genot dat der herinnering, schooner nog dan de werkelijkheid. Het minder mooie en de Westerse nasmaak verdwijnt, en er rest een wonderland van paleizen en tempels, bevolkt met onafzienbare rijen van bontgekleurde oosterlingen, van rijkgetooide paarde-stoeten van kamelen en drommen olifanten. De herinnering verzacht de schaduwen van het licht, werpt een doorzichtige sluier over de werkelijkheid en verandert haar in een droombeeld waarvan de kleuren nooit zullen verflauwen." (Mariëtta Jansen, Marius Bauer, 1867-1932, Heino/Wijhe 1991, pp. 28 and 32)
It is precisely this 'transparent veil' which Bauer describes that forms a large part of the appeal of these paintings. According to Bauer it is not the depiction of reality alone which forms the challenge in art but envisioning the chimerical, to heighten reality with an impression of the mythical.