Before being given the opportunity by the artdealer E.J. Wisselingh to stay in Istanbul for several months, Marius Bauer (1867-1932) already cherished a great fascination for the East. Inspired by his favorite book 'A Thousand and One Night' and endowed with a vivid imagination the young artist made drawings if the Middle East that strikingly resemble his later work. The majority of these early impressions however have been lost or damaged. Marius Bauer made his first journey to Turkey in 1888 and was overwhelmed by the unspoilt beauty and indescribably exotic richness of the Islamic culture. In a letter to the artist Philip Zilcken he describes the mysterious and fairy-tale like atmosphere which would have a lasting effect on his life and work:'... en schel schijnt de zon soms op een deur, die licht-groen of rose is geverfd of op een hel roode muur of een licht-blauwen, en telkens denk je dat Aladdin met zijn slavenstoet iot zoo'n deurtje zal verschijnen, om zijn schatten te gaan leggen aan de voeten van den Sultan, of dat een troep euneuchen in schitterende kleeding je voort zullen jagen en de straat schoon vegen zullen, want de prinses Badoura nadert in haar draagkoets, tusschen een drom van slavinnen, om naar ad te gaan./.'t Is vreemd, maar ik kan mij de 'Duizend-en-een-nacht' niet anders voorstellen dan gebeurd in Turksche straten.'(De Vries, op cit., p. 20). Despite other trips to the Dutch-Indies, Siam, Indo-China, Egypt, Italy, Spain and Russia, Bauers' sojourns in Turkey would stay the main source of inspiration throughout his artistic career. Bauer initially established his reputation as an etcher and was often compared to Rembrandt in his rendering of clairobscur. On seeing a collection of Bauer's work in the studio of Ph. Zilcken Jozef Israels exclaimed: 'Maar die jongen heeft niet talent, hij is talent. Ik wil al die etsen hebben.' (Ph. Zilcken 1897, p. 4.). From 1891 onwards Bauer also illustrated different books with etchings, lithographs and drawings. 'Karel ende Elegast', 'Akédysseril', and 'La vie eternelle et la jeunesse inaltérable' are among those that Bauer chose to illuminate inthe years before 1900. More along the line of the artists fascination for the East were the drawings he made for 'A Thousand and One Night', the best known example of Arabian prose and famous for the advenmtures of Aladdin, Ali Baba and Sinbad. When the artist got hold of Mardrus' complete French translation in 1912 he couldn't restrain himself from illuminating the pages with his own pen and watercolour drawings, thus bringing his favorite childhood story to life. Bauer loved to read and would do so with a pen in his hand, jotting down small drawings on the pages as he went along. In the margin and even covering the text in its whole one finds colourful scenes full of caracteristic figures and animals, rendered in a loose but decorative style. As Hennus remarks: 'Wat hij neerzet is altijd charmant, voornaam van allure ./. geestig menigmaal.' (Hennus, op cit., p. 39). The casual manner in which Bauer executed the drawings and the vast amount he created lead to the illustrations being more impressionistic than analytical. With swift brushstrokes and a subdued colour palette the artist added a separate atmosphere to each page. Once Bauer had filled all sixteen volumes with his lively sketches he soon bought another edition of Mardrus' Arabian nights, this time illustrating the story not with 3000 but 4001 drawings. One of the many stories from the collection: 'L'histoire d'Aboul Hassan, Ali Ebn Becar et de Schemsel Nikar' was published in colour by Erven Bohn in Haarlem in 1929 and constitues an idiosyncratic yet significant contribution to printmaking in the Netherlands. Both original sixteen volume copies of Bauer's 'A Thousand and One Night' eventually passed into the hands of private collectors and it was not until 1965 that the first edition with 3000 drawings was exhibited in Arnhem at the Gemeentemuseum. Christie's Amsterdam is privileged to have been entrusted with the sale of the second collections of illustrated 'Arabian Nights'. This magnificent edition not only contains 4001 autonomous and original works of art, but must above all be seen as a unique testimony of Bauer's love for the East.

Marius Bauer (1867-1932)

ARABIAN NIGHTS - Le livre des mille et une nuit. Translation by J.C. Mardrus. Paris: Editions de la Revue Blanche, 1899-1904. 16 volumes, 8 vo. De luxe issue of 100 copies on special paper (japon impérial or hollande), this copy no. 99 of 75 on holland paper. Red morocco bindings, edges uncut. Signed on the title-page of the first volume by Marius Bauer, who has extra - illustrated this set throughout with 4001 watercolours. (16)

细节

Marius Bauer (1867-1932)
ARABIAN NIGHTS - Le livre des mille et une nuit. Translation by J.C. Mardrus. Paris: Editions de la Revue Blanche, 1899-1904. 16 volumes, 8 vo. De luxe issue of 100 copies on special paper (japon impérial or hollande), this copy no. 99 of 75 on holland paper. Red morocco bindings, edges uncut. Signed on the title-page of the first volume by Marius Bauer, who has extra - illustrated this set throughout with 4001 watercolours. (16)

出版

M.F. Hennus, Marius Bauer, Amsterdam 1947, p. 39
J.H. van Eikeren, Marius Bauer zoals men hem niet kent, Bussum 1946.
R.W.P. de Vries jr, M.A.J. Bauer, Amsterdam 1944.
R. Bionda, Carel Blotkamp, ed., De Schilders van Tachtig, Amsterdam 1991, p. 119.
Ph. Zilcken, Marius Bauer, Elseviers's Geïllustreerd Maandschrift 13 (1897).