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Artist or Maker: FREDERICK ARTHUR BRIDGMAN 1847 - 1928
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Dimensions: 79 by 98cm., 31 by 38½in.
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Notes:
Nubian donkeys had been bred and used in Egypt and North Africa since ancient times and were an integral part of street life. Bridgman, like his teacher Jean-Léon Gérôme, was captivated by their striking white colouring and proud bearing compared to European breeds. Works such as the present one amply demonstrate Bridgman's skill at rendering animals, which he perfected while working in Gérôme's studio. Camels, horses, greyhounds, and Indian elephants are central to Bridgman's oeuvre, setting him apart as one of the most accomplished animalier painters of the nineteenth century.
Bridgman's first taste of the 'Orient' came in 1872 when he moved from Paris to the Pyrenées and came into contact with the bright Mediterranean light and Moorish heritage of Spain. He also befriended the painter Mariano Fortuny, whose bright, sensuous palette had a profound influence on the young American and led to the lightening of his own palette. From Spain, it was only a short journey across the Straits of Gibraltar into North Africa. During the autumn of 1872 he travelled through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, which would have a lasting hold on his imagination and form the setting for almost his entire subsequent output.
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