Filippo Baratti (Italian, fl. 1868-1901)
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Filippo Baratti (Italian, fl. 1868-1901)

An oath of allegiance in the Hall of the Abencerrajes, Alhambra, Granada

Details
Filippo Baratti (Italian, fl. 1868-1901)
An oath of allegiance in the Hall of the Abencerrajes, Alhambra, Granada
signed and dated 'F.Baratti 1879' (lower left); and signed, inscribed and dated 'Sommersgione Sala degli Abenceraggi nel Palazzo dell'Alhambra Granada Spagna. Dipinto da Filippo Baratti per Il Signor James Webb Londra 1879' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
23 1/8 x 33 in. (58.8 x 83.8 cm.)
Painted in 1879
Provenance
James Webb, London, acquired directly from the artist in 1879 (according to an inscription on the reverse).
Anon. sale, Sotheby's London, 22 November 1983, lot 10 (as The surrender).
Mathaf Gallery, London.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.
Literature
C. Juler, Le Orientalistes de l'école Italienne, Paris, 1992, p. 29 (as La Reddition, illustrated).
Special notice
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Lot Essay

Painted in 1879, for 'Signor James Webb' (possibly the Victorian painter), The oath of allegiance is one of the earliest paintings by Baratti with an Oriental subject. The scene depicts an act of fealty to one of the Nasrid rulers of Granada (1230-1492), possibly recounting an episode from one of the romantic fables of chivalric deeds depicted in the painted vaults of the Hall of Kings in the Alhambra palace.
Although the Alhambra was the inspiration for a number of Orientalist painters, such a specific choice by Baratti in this case is unusual. It is not a coincidence, however, that an illustrated guide to Moorish Andalusia, L'Espagne, written by Baron Jean-Charles Davillier (1823-83), was published by Hachette in Paris in 1874 and in other European countries shortly after. It is more than likely that either Baratti's patron, James Webb, or the artist himself, were not only aware of L'Espagne, but that it influenced them in their choice of subject.
Baron Davillier reproduced details of the rooms, courts and objects of both the Alhambra and the Alcazar in Seville using illustrations by Gustave Doré. With Davillier's descriptions and Doré's illustrations as a guide, Baratti has set the scene in the Hall of the Abencerrajes, with its superbly decorated tile and carved plaster walls, which he has captured magnificently in the present work.
This splendid architectural setting was embellished with the finest products of local workshops. To the left of the entrance Baratti has included one of the famous 'Alhambra' vases. The glazed, wing-handled vases were made in Malaga in the 14th/15th century, and one of which is illustrated in Davillier's book. Baratti may also have seen another, albeit less complete vase, in the collection of the Italian painter, Mariano Fortuny y Marsal (1841-74), a close friend of Davillier. Fortuny's vase (fig. 1), now in the Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (no. 03.206), has an opaque white glaze, overglaze-painted in blue and golden lustre, and might possibly have provided Baratti with the colour details for the vase in the present painting. Even the vase stand, designed by Fortuny, with its four lions, based on the Lion Court Fountain, has been included in Baratti's painting. Baratti's attention to such details, as well as his lavish depictions of Moorish architecture and costume, made his Alhambra paintings among his most sought after. A depiction of an unidentified room in the Alhambra by Baratti, painted in 1878, was sold at Christie's New York, 1 November 1995 ($129,000).

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