20/08/2001
by Luisa Vassallo

During the last ten years, the art market has shown an increasingly strong interest in Arabian paintings from the 19^th Century, executed by European artists who specialised on Oriental subjects. Some works, in particular studies and small canvases, were painted on location, while the rest were executed on the artists’ return from their travels, using the eastern objects they brought back as studio props and the sketches as inspiration. As a result of the keen attention for this genre, in 1998 Christie’s London introduced the "Ottomans and Orientalists" auction in their annual calendar that fetched a total of $ 6.3 million (€ 7.2 million), appealing to buyers from a large geographic area stretching from North Africa to the Caucasus, as well as to Western clients. After a very successful start, recently this regionally themed sale seems to be feeling the consequences of the current unstable political situation in the Middle East and global economic concerns.

On the 21^st June 2001, Christie’s London presented 93 lots in their "Ottomans and Orientalists" auction that sold for a total of $ 2.04 (€ 2.3 million), finding buyers for only 46% of the works on offer. The percentage of lots sold was not as impressive as the hammer prices reached by certain works. The painting featured on the front cover of the catalogue, The Fortune Teller by French artist Edouard Fréderic Wilhelm Richter (1844-1913), a signed and dated oil on canvas measuring 100 x 77.5 cm, was the top lot of the sale. This theatrical depiction of an Eastern lady consulting a fortune teller was fresh on the market and in very good state of conservation. With an estimate of $ 100,000-142,860 (€ 113,740-162,480) the painting hammered at $ 173,198 (€ 189,998), going to a collector from the Far East and setting a record for the artist. Fellow Frenchman Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) was present with two paintings. The first, The Egyptian Recruiting Officer was painted in 1861 at the height of the artist’s career and was inspired by his first trip to Egypt. This signed oil on panel (28 x 40.5 cm), also in very good condition, had not been on the market for over eighty years and was sold for $ 171,420 (€ 195,000) after an estimate of $ 100,000-142,860 (€ 113,740-162,480) to a European collector. The larger painting by Gérôme painted in 1895, An Arab Caravan outside a fortified town, Egypt (signed oil on canvas, 74 x 113 cm) remained unsold with an estimate of $ 285,900-428,530 (€ 324,670-487,000).

Otherwise Arabian paintings are not separately catalogued, but included in the 19^th Century Art sales. On the 23^rd May 2000, Christie’s Rome presented eight works by the Italian artist Roberto Guastalla (1885-1912), a secondary artist who has recently been rediscovered: in 1996, an anthological exhibition dedicated to his work was held in Parma (Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Parma) where he trained at the Academy, and four of his works were included in the exhibition The Italian Orientalists held at the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi, Turin, in 1998. The works auctioned were fresh on the market and were offered by the artist’s heirs. Only five of the lots found buyers and were mainly sold below their estimated values. Hunting with a hawk by Lake Urmieh (Persia), a signed a dated oil on card (23 x 37 cm), from 1878, was acquired for $ 7,280 (€ 8,260) within its estimate.

The most recent sale of 19^th Century Art held by Christie’s Rome, on the 4^th June 2001, included only three paintings depicting Arab scenes. Of particular interest was a large signed oil (194 x 132.5 cm), by another Italian Orientalist Hermann David Salomon Corrodi (1844-1905) entitled Constantinople, the market near the mosque . The appeal of the dusky market scene, painted on a rather coarse canvas, resides in the decorative and detailed rendering. It attracted several bidders in the sale-room, hammering at $ 63,660 (€ 72,300) against an estimate of $ 36,370-45,460 (€ 41,320-51,640). The artist gained international acclaim in the European courts during his time and consequently his works are present on the international art market. His paintings are especially appreciated on the London market, the sunset scenes being of particular interest with prices ranging between $ 50,000-100,000 (€ 56,780-113,560). In the sale held on the 17^th June 1999 Christie’s London presented Sunset on the Nile, Cairo, oil on canvas measuring 86 x 165 cm, that reached a hammer price of $ 128,560 (€ 145,990) with an estimate of $ 85,700-114,290 (€ 97,330-129,780). This result owes to the refined brushstrokes, influenced by the academic traditions of the first half of the Ottocento on Corrodi’s style, confirming that good quality landscapes constantly tend to fetch good prices. In their most recent auction, The Kiosk of Trajan, Philae on the Nile (oil on canvas, 100.4 x 65.4 cm) fetched $ 67,140 (€ 72,246) with a starting price of $ 42,850 (€ 48,680).