Germain Fabius Brest

Private collection, Paris

The canvas has been relined. Ultra-violet light reveals some minor scattered retouchings, notably spots near the framing edges, a small circa 4 by 2.5cm area in the grey wall of the building above the boat near the left edge (probably a minor repair) and a handful of tiny scattered pinhead-sized spots of retouching in the sky. This painting is in good overall condition and ready to hang. Presented in a substantial Neoclassical frame, with laurel leaf ornaments.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This painting shows a bright and breezy day on the Bosphorus, the straits separating Europe and Asia, and joining the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Just as now, the sea channel was a major trade route when Brest painted this view, as seen in the laden wooden cargo vessels in full sail. But for all its mercantile importance, for much of their length the shores are lined with handsome buildings: mosques and palaces, but also wooden waterside villas known as yalis seen in the present work, built for the city's wealthier inhabitants as summer retreats.