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Description: signed L. Deutsch Paris (upper left)

oil on panel

Notes: The Orient was a major preoccupation among 19th century artists. As art historian James Thompson claimed, the East was "imagined, experienced, remembered." Although the French were great exponents of the Orientalist genre, the theme also fascinated an international audience stretching as far as America.

While many 19th century artists remained armchair Orientalists, reaping the benefits of public demand for such work; others traveled extensively to the Orient, assisted on archaeological expeditions, and thereby greatly expanded their pictorial vocabulary. Jean-Léon Gérôme, an extraordinary master of this genre, traveled to the East no less that seven times. He taught generations of artists interested in the Orient to document the vivid colors and strong light, architecture, customs and costumes.

Ludwig Deutsch was one such student who was greatly influenced by the allure of the East. He settled in Paris in 1876, and became one of the most celebrated Orientalist artists, along with friend and fellow Austrian, Rudolph Ernst (see lot 34). Outside a Café exemplifies Deutsch's masterful rendering of exacting photographic detail, in particular the drapery and physiognomy of the figures.

This lot will be sold unframed.

Provenance: PROPERTY OF A LADY

Mathaf Gallery Ltd., London
Private Collection, New York
Sale, Sotheby's New York, May 1, 2001, lot 12, illustrated

Dimensions: 21 by 25 3/4 in.

53.3 by 64 cm.

Literature: Martina Haja and Günther Wimmer, Les Orientalistes des École Allemande et Autrichienne, ARC Édition, Paris, 2000, p. 213, illustrated

Date: 1855-1935