Rudolf Ernst

Alain Lesieutre, Paris
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, May 23, 1989, lot 46, illustrated

Lynne Thornton, Les Orientalistes: Peintres Voyageurs 1828-1908, Paris, 1983, p. 226, illustrated
Lynne Thornton, Women as Portrayed in Orientalist Painting, Paris 1985, illustrated p. 66

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting has probably been fairly recently restored and could be hung in its current condition. The panel is unreinforced on the reverse. The panel is flat and the paint layer is stable. The painting is probably clean. It is more than likely that there are no real restorations to the painting. The panel has been slightly unevenly shaved on the front prior to being painted. There are faint marks of this planing still visible as well as texture that accompanies it, but none of this seems to have given rise to any paint loss or damage. The work is in very good condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Rudolf Ernst travelled extensively through North Africa and the Middle East and turned to Orientalist subjects beginning in 1885. Inspired by Eastern styles of decorative arts and tile work in particular, Ernst attempted faience himself after a particularly invigorating trip to Turkey. The subject of The Hammam, provided ample opportunities for him to indulge these interests. Ernst's care can be seen in his thoughtful renderings of every element from the ornate tile work on the far wall, the black and white stone courses over the doorway, the woven basket, woven reed mat and talish-style carpet that appears in other compositions by Ernst and is likely from his own collection. The elevated shoes in the woman's hand are intended to keep her feet out of the water and the basket of towels would be a common sight in this space.

While Ernst may have been exacting in his depiction of the sumptuous and elaborate interior space, he seems to have taken liberties elsewhere. It is unlikely that he would have ever witnessed a woman’s hammam himself, just as it is improbable that a male attendant would have been allowed in such close proximity to the bathing space. The painting is essentially a fictional pastiche of carefully studied and referenced elements.

Perhaps because of their implicitly erotic and voyeuristic charge, the baths were a popular subject for European artists representing the Middle East. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres' well-known The Turkish Baths (1867, Musée du Louvre) provides a ready example (although Ingres never travelled to the Middle-East) and Jean-Léon Gérôme's many depictions.