Theodoros Ralli

Vassilis Korkolopoulos
Private Collection, Greece

Giannoula Kaplanis, Tobacco Boxes from the V. Korkolopoulos Collection, Athens, 2004, illustrated on the cover
Maria Katsanaki, Le Peintre Théodore Ralli (1852-1909) et son oeuvre, Doctoral Thesis, Paris, 2007, vol. I, p. 291, mentioned; vol. II, p. 562, no. 366, catalogued & illustrated; vol. III, fig. 99, illustrated

Original canvas. Apart from some minor retouching visible under UV light, notably some strokes to the upper right of the throne and a spot in the smoke, and a light horizontal stretcher mark in the centre, overall this work is in good condition. Held in a decorative frame with sinuous floral motifs, which appears to be of the period.
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Born in Constantinople, Ralli pursued a thoroughly international career. While Paris became his home early on, throughout his life he travelled frequently to Greece and the Middle East, often spending the winter months in Cairo. From the 1870s he trained alongside other foreign painters in the studio of leading pompier painter Jean-Léon Gérôme, whose legendary draughtsmanship and photographic finish provided a model of perfection Ralli emulated with great success.

Ethnographic precision and exactitude were Ralli's guiding principles, yet his compositions are enhanced by a fine sense of narrative and a delight in the exotic. Like Gérôme he returned time and again to scenes from the hammam, whose voyeuristic associations assured strong commercial appeal. As Maria Katsanaki noted, 'Ralli showed a special preference for the moments of relaxation and enjoyment which followed the ritual of bathing. In these scenes he depicts his models with luminous velvet skin lying about languidly, towelling themselves gracefully or stretching coquettishly'('Images of the Orient in Greek Painting' in Marina Lambraki-Plaka ed., Four Centuries of Greek Painting, Athens, 1999, p. 95).