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Dimensions: 41 by 32.3cm., 16¼ by 12¾in.
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Provenance: Count Oscar de Ranchicourt; thence by descent
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Exhibited: Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André, Le Second Empire, 1957, no. 49
Ornans, Musée Courbet, Les Orientalistes chez Courbet, 2001, no. 14, illustrated in the catalogue
Paris, Institut du monde arabe, De Delacroix à Renoir. L'Algérie des peintres, 2003/2004, no. 10, illustrated in the catalogue
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Literature: V. Chevillard, Théodore Chassériau, Paris, 1893, no. 104 (Femme mauresque assise) or no. 143 (Almée, vente Chassériau)
Marc Sandoz, Théodore Chassériau, Paris, 1974, no. 224, pl. 189, illustrated
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Notes: PROPERTY FROM A FRENCH PRIVATE COLLECTION
In contrast to some of his overtly sensual Orientalist canvases, such as Femme mauresque of 1854 (fig. 1), the present work shows an innocent young girl seated in an interior, facing the viewer with a dreamy expression. The scene is intimate and conveys the idea of an uncontrived, spontaneous composition through the carelessly discarded slipper and mandolin in the foreground. Chassériau masterfully captures the effect of light on the rich fabrics worn by the girl and those embellishing the interior. Chassériau showed his talent for painting from early childhood, and in 1833, aged fourteen, was admitted to the studio of Ingres. He quickly became the master's favourite, who hailed him as the future 'Napoléon of painting', and he first exhibited in 1836. Like Ingres, he always emphasized line and form, but also became fascinated by Delacroix's use of colour to express emotion. The two influences are clearly apparent in the present work.
In 1846, Chassériau was invited by Ali-ben-Hamet to visit Constantine in Algeria. He subsequently joined Delacroix, Marilhat and Fromentin as an enthusiast for the light and colour as well as the mystery and exoticism of North Africa. Just as the experience of the Orient transformed the palettes of Delacroix, Fromentin and Gérôme, so Chassériau's journey to Algeria had a profound and lasting influence on his oeuvre, offering him a wealth of new subject matter and introducing him to a dazzling light and colours he had not experienced before.
In contrast to some of his overtly sensual Orientalist canvases, such as Femme mauresque of 1854 (fig. 1), the present work shows an innocent young girl seated in an interior, facing the viewer with a dreamy expression. The scene is nevertheless intimate and conveys the idea of an uncontrived, spontaneous composition through the carelessly discarded shoe and mandolin of the girl in the foreground. Chassériau masterfully captures the effect of light on the rich fabrics worn by the girl and those embellishing the interior. Combing memories of Algeria, which he visited in 1846, with his own fantasies, Jeune fille mauresque captures Chassériau's unique vision of the Orient, the land of his longings and his dreams.
Fig. 1: Théodore Chassériau, Femme mauresque, 1854, oil on canvas, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg
digi ref 320D04100
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