Rudolf Ernst

Private Collection, Switzerland

Paris, Salon, 1911, no. 670 (as Tombeau du sultan Mehmed)

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work on a large wooden panel is in very good condition. The wood is flat, and the paint layer is stable and clean. The elaborate frame is probably original. Although the work reads slightly unevenly under ultraviolet light, there do not appear to be any actual retouches, except possibly on the extreme edges and in the corners. The work is clearly in beautiful state.
"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."

This rare Turkish subject by Ernst depicts the interior of the Yesil Türbe (Green Tomb) in Bursa, one of the finest examples of early Ottoman architecture and the burial place of Sultan Mehmet I (ruled 1413-1421). The interior of the tomb attracted a number of Western artists, including John Frederick Lewis, who depicted it in a watercolour now in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. 

It is unusual to find a painting by Ernst that depicts an actual place. So often his paintings were imagined, worked up from photos, props, and his own memory, but ultimately fictitious. Here, the sarcophagus and its surroundings are minutely observed, guarded by the Imam or tomb guardian. The mihrab, a niche set into the middle of the qibla wall of a building in order to indicate the direction of Mecca, is also clearly visible.