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Lot Essay
After studying in Parma, Alberto Pasini moved to Paris and worked for a limited period in Théodore Chassériau's studio. It was there that he became fascinated by Orientalist subjects, and undertook to travel through Persia, Syria and Turkey to experience unique character of these lands at first hand.
Thus, between 1857 and 1870 Pasini travelled to Egypt and Constantinople (1867-1869), studying the architecture and the culture which he rendered upon his canvases in beautiful gem-like colours. The images inspired by his trips provided an escape from the grey European landscape with its encroaching industrial development and earned him numerous honours, including medals in the Parisian Salons of 1859, 1863, 1864 and 1868. In 1870 he exhibited his Porte de la mosquée de Yeni Djami which made a lasting impression on collectors and critics alike, and which Jules Castagnary noted upon: '... n'oublions pas le beau paysage gris de Pasini... Son harmonie est si juste, le dessin de son architecture est si fin...' (quoted in C. Juler, Les orientalistes de l'école Italienne, Paris, 1994, p. 122). The painting was purchased in 1872 by the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes.
Painted in 1873, the present picture was based on the artist's trip to Syria of the same year and is characteristic in depicting the light and and local colour, and the lavish architectural settings of the city which had enchanted Pasini.
Thus, between 1857 and 1870 Pasini travelled to Egypt and Constantinople (1867-1869), studying the architecture and the culture which he rendered upon his canvases in beautiful gem-like colours. The images inspired by his trips provided an escape from the grey European landscape with its encroaching industrial development and earned him numerous honours, including medals in the Parisian Salons of 1859, 1863, 1864 and 1868. In 1870 he exhibited his Porte de la mosquée de Yeni Djami which made a lasting impression on collectors and critics alike, and which Jules Castagnary noted upon: '... n'oublions pas le beau paysage gris de Pasini... Son harmonie est si juste, le dessin de son architecture est si fin...' (quoted in C. Juler, Les orientalistes de l'école Italienne, Paris, 1994, p. 122). The painting was purchased in 1872 by the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes.
Painted in 1873, the present picture was based on the artist's trip to Syria of the same year and is characteristic in depicting the light and and local colour, and the lavish architectural settings of the city which had enchanted Pasini.