Jean-Leon Gerome, masterpiece sold in Christie's $ 2M

Gérôme traversed Istanbul during a series of extensive winter journeys that occasionally transformed into safaris, including Egypt, the Sinai, and the Holy Lands during the winters of 1857, 1862, 1867, and 1878. It is confirmed that he visited the region en route home in 1867 and was present there in March 1875.

Gérôme was an unrelenting traveler. He appeared perpetually active, even in his seventies. Their journeys were frequently prolonged, perhaps lasting several months. One contemplates how he accomplished such a substantial amount of labor. When his studio helper, the sculptor Decorchemont, advised him to moderate his pace, he said, 'Do you truly believe I have the luxury to slow down at my age?'

Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824-1904)

Femme circassienne voilée: Veiled circassian beauty

signed 'J.L.GEROME.' (upper right)

oil on canvas

16 x 12 7/8 in. (40.7 x 32.6 cm.)

Painted in 1876.

Sold in Christie's $ 2 M

It is pleasant to consider that on the 1875 expedition, namely to Istanbul, he was joined by his friend, the respected Italian Orientalist, Alberto Pasini. However, it remains uncertain; Pasini attempted to visit Istanbul in 1874 but was dissuaded by Turkish political developments and subsequently went home. He focused on depictions of Istanbul, its palaces, and the surrounding landscape, typically featuring small groups of escorted Turkish women clad in vibrant bukors of singular colors: red, blue, orange, and yellow, accompanied by a white hijab or veil in public, and bare-headed in their private gardens. Pasini adeptly utilized vibrant segments of intense local hues within natural environments. Vividly hued outer clothing continue to illuminate the Moroccan landscape.

However, Gérôme, despite being encouraged by his friend Pasini to prolong his stay, seems to have devoted his time in the bazaar to searching for women's apparel rather than sketching marketplaces and gardens. Shortly after his visit, he created a series of half-length genre portraits of two women: one adult and the other a youngster. They were occasionally categorized as distinct anthropological kinds. Both were presumably derived from models in Paris, where he could encounter ethnic kinds. The identical model was employed for both iterations of the Danse du Sabre dans un café, which Gérôme presented to Goupil in 1875—possibly he traveled to Turkey just to get a new outfit for that artwork. My catalogue features six portraits. The documented titles of the portraits cannot always be definitively attributed: ours may be the one listed in the Goupil Stockbooks as Circassienne in one instance and Femme assise voile vert in another, as her veil—though now darkened, as frequently occurs with greens—remains green where it drapes over her neck, likely due to the white lead in the skin tone. Nevertheless, several inadequately recognized items and references elsewhere remain unresolved.

Although all are exquisite combinations of color and embellished textiles, one appears to be the most opulent, with a person attired in a pale blue jacket adorned with gold embroidery set against a deep burnt-Pompeian crimson backdrop. Gérôme excels at creating effective color schemes; rather than intensifying the blue or diminishing the vibrancy of the red background, he achieves balance through the gold embroidery and lace of the jacket, as well as the richly colored rug upon which her arm rests, which completes a diagonal leading to the dark upper right corner and intersects with the diagonal of the baton in her hands. She is positioned off the primary axis, but nuanced regions of graduated lighting accentuate her left shoulder, breast, and hand in a cohesive arrangement that reinforces the vertical alignment via her nose. I reference these subtleties because to their nuanced richness, which is undeniably superb. The contemplative visage is positioned above a contrapposto that does not disrupt the thoughtful expression on her face. The interplay of components is striking: the rug's strong design accentuates the jacket's delicacy. The hand is exquisite, both in precision and in its contemplative stillness. inspired by Christie's

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