Theodoros Rallis Greek, 1852-1909

Estate of the artist; thence by descent 

Elegantly dressed in the centre of the composition, Ralli is preparing his model for a sitting. Dressed in colourful Oriental dress the young woman patiently waits while the painter adjusts her costume while her mother in traditional dress looks on. The interior of Rallis' Paris studio is filled with props, such as the lion skin on the floor and the fans in the background, that he has incorporated in several paintings.

Born in Constantinople of Greek descent, Rallis trained in Paris in the studio of leading pompier painter Jean-Léon Gérôme, through the support and patronage of King Otto of Greece. He made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1875, and in 1900 was appointed to the Jury of the Paris World Fair. Gérôme's legendary draughtsmanship and photographic finish provided a model of perfection, which Rallis emulated with great success, yet, contrary to Gérôme, ethnographical precision and exactitude were also his guiding principles.

Gérôme's studio was one of the most prestigious and competitive, and his students followed a rigorous academic programme which placed an emphasis on draftsmanship. The basic principles of line and colour are clearly evident in the present work.  

The tradition of depicting an artist’s studio was longstanding in France, the most famous nineteenth-century interpretation being Courbet’s great work of 1855, L’Atelier (Musée d' Orsay, Paris), a painting which launched Realism. Gérôme also treated this subject in The Artist and His Model (see fig. 1).

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Jean-Léon Gérôme, The Artist and his Model @ Dahesh Museum, New York