Lights and Shadows · Sotheby's Orientalist Auction
Charles Theodore Frere - Sunset on the Nile - 1877
A brief and subjective review of Sotheby's Orientalist art auction in London, March 2022, in which -as usual in this kind of auctions- it was not difficult to find excellent works sold for surprisingly low prices.
By G. Fernández · theartwolf.com ·· Image: Charles Théodore Frère, "Sunset on the Nile", 1877
There are works of art that are simply beautiful, and that is all. They aspire to no more, and they shouldn't have to. "Sunset on the Nile" by Charles Théodore Frère is one of them. Painted in 1877, in the midst of the splendour of Impressionism, the painting defines for itself what Orientalist art is all about. Anti-revolutionary, not at all "modern" and even old-fashioned, perhaps, but with an irresistible magnetism. The work had a pre-sale estimate of between £60,000 and £80,000, and was auctioned for £132,300, still a modest price for this excellent work of art.
The highest price of the auction, and certainly its greatest success, was achieved by "The Bazaar of the Coppersmiths, Cairo", painted in 1842 by David Roberts, one of the great names in Orientalist painting. The work seemed strangely familiar to me, and going through archives I managed to find out why. The beautiful, bustling painting had been included in Sotheby's Orientalist art auction in April 2016, where, with a pre-sale estimate of between £300,000 and £500,000, failed to find a buyer. Heading into this auction, Sotheby's markedly lowered its estimate to a range of between £60,000 and £80,000, and the painting sold for £403,200, making good on the previous estimate. A good companion to the above painting would be "Gate in Morocco," painted in 1892 by Richard Fuchs. The painting -simple, calm and luminous- was auctioned for £63,000, in line with its more optimistic pre-sale estimate.
David Roberts - The Bazaar of the Coppersmiths Cairo - 1842
Image: David Roberts R.A, "The Blacksmiths' Bazaar, Cairo", 1842.
Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) is, of course, one of the great superstars of Orientalism -if Orientalism ever had superstars. It is not surprising, therefore, that "A Veiled Beauty" (1876) was the work with the highest presale estimate (between £250,000 and £350,000). The work, although attractive, is not among the best of Gérôme, who is at his best when he unleashes his fantasy in more complex scenes, both historical and allegorical. Despite this, the painting sold for £277,200.
Among the disappointments, the most notable case was "Before the Mosque," a painting of rather modest dimensions by Ludwig Deutsch (1855-1935), another of the great figures of Orientalism, whose "The Tribute" was sold three years ago by Sotheby's for over $5 million. "Beside the Mosque," which had a pre-sale estimate of £200,000 to £300,000, failed to find a buyer.

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