Jean-Baptiste Huysmans, Jewish woman at the entrance to her home in Algiers. The Hebrew word "Shalom" is inscribed on the house door.
Oil on panel. Signed. Titled on back (in French): "Juive d'Alger" ["Jewish Woman of Algiers"].
Jean-Baptiste Huysmans (1826-1906), Belgian painter, native of Antwerp, identified with the Orientalist trend in European painting. Studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp (1843-49). After completing his studies there, he wandered throughout Europe for several years, and became acquainted with works of the greatest of the painters of the Near East – in particular Jean-Léon Gérôme and John Frederick Lewis, the most prominent Orientalist painters in France and Great Britain. He later embarked on a series of journeys throughout the Mediterranean Basin, exploring Greece, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Algeria. In the course of these travels, he produced his most memorable paintings, that would come to be among the most highly regarded of artworks in the field of Oriental European painting. Huysman's paintings focus on scenes and images from daily life; they are characterized by bold color, and are distinguished by the careful attention to details such as accessories and items of jewelry and costume. The present work is no exception. Huysman's inexhaustible meticulousness also finds expression in his journals and research studies, which are replete with detailed descriptions of objects and items of clothing. The artist also made his mark by creating murals portraying scenes from the Scriptures for a number of Jerusalem's churches.
Approx. 30.5X39 cm. In an elegant frame, approx. 52X61 cm. Blemishes and fractures to frame.