Lot Essay
The present lot is a fine example of the luminosity which is so typical of the work of Otto Pilny. The Swiss-born artist started his artistic education in Prague at the time of its cultural dominance over the region. Later he lived in Vienna for a time, until finally settling in Zürich. He was a great admirer of the Orient and in 1889 he travelled to Egypt for the first time. He was enthralled by its landscape, its people and their customs. He was a prolific painter and fuelled by his love for the Orient he has left behind a wide oeuvre in which the warm tones and vibrant atmosphere of tribal desert existence are dominantly present.