Georges Washington, 1827 - 1910, FRENCH
FORDING THE WADI
Oil on canvas
60 by 81cm., 23½ by 32in.
Private collection
Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs.
George Washington, born 15 September 1827 in Marseille
and died November 19, 1901 in Douarnenez, was a French Orientalist
painter. Like most aspiring artists, the young Georges Washington moved to
Paris, where he trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts under François-Edouard
Picot (1786-1868). The artist’s exotic style was also indebted to Eugène Delacroix
(1798-1863). Washington’s art conveys a similar feeling to the work of Eugène
Fromentin (1820-76) who often painted naturalistic Middle Eastern scenes of
rural and nomadic life. Washington’s love of the Middle East and its customs
was further enhanced and encouraged by his father-in-law, the military and
Orientalist painter Henri-Félix-Emmanuel Philippoteaux (1815-1884), whose
daughter Anne-Léonie Philippoteaux married Washington in Paris on 6th August
1859.
Not long
after finishing his training at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Washington embarked
on the first of a number of trips to Algeria and based on close observation of
its inhabitants, their dress and customs in 1857 he made his Paris debut at the
Salon des Artistes Français with a view of nomads titled Plaine du Hoiina
(Sahara Algérien). From then up until 1901 Washington continued to be a popular
exhibitor at the Salon; one of his first works shown there to gain critical
acclaim was Nomades dans le Sahara en Hiver. In addition to Paris, Washington
also showed his work in Moscow in 1881 and was later posthumously honoured when
four of his paintings were included in the Exposition Coloniale de Marseille in
1906.
Following
two commissions from a Belgian company, he travelled to Morocco and then
subsequently visited Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, which were to inspire his
varied subjects including battle scenes and cavalry skirmishes. His travels
also took him to America for the unveiling in Philadelphia of a cyclorama (a
monumental 360° panoramic view) of the Battle of Gettysburg by his
brother-in-law Paul-Dominique Philippoteaux (1846-1923).
Following the death of his wife he retired to live with his
daughter and son-in-law at Douarnenez on the Brittany coast, where he died
shortly after on 19th November 1901. More
George Washington
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