01 Painting by Orientalist Artists. Prosper Marilhat's Ezbekiyah Street in Cairo, with footnotes, #92

Prosper Marilhat  (1811–1847)

Ezbekiah Street in Cairo, c. 1833

Oil on canvas

height: 54 cm (21.2 in); width: 42 cm (16.5 in)

Hermitage Museum

Azbakeya is one of the central districts of Cairo, Egypt. It contains many historically important establishments. One of these is the Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, which was inaugurated by Pope Mark VIII in 1800 and served as the seat of the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria from 1800 to 1971. Azbakeya was the place where the first Cairo Opera House was established, in 1869. More on Azbakeya

Antoine-George-Prosper Marilhat, usually known as Prosper Marilhat, (26 March 1811 – 13 September 1847) was a French Orientalist painter. Many of his most successful works were based on the sketches he drew during the time he spent in Egypt in 1831–1832.

He was born in Vertaizon. Encouraged by local artists, Marihat began painting at an early age. Although his parents wanted him to work in the cutlery business of Thiers, Puy-de-Dôme where he lived, the Baron de Barante convinced them he was more suited to an artistic career. He went to Paris in 1829 where he studied under Camille Roqueplan, exhibiting for the first time at the Paris Salon in 1831 with his Site d'Auvergne.

In May 1831, Marilhat was invited by Charles von Hügel to join him on a lengthy expedition but he only accompanied him as far as Alexandria. Over the following months, from October 1831 to May 1833, he completed ten albums of sketches there which would form the basis of his later paintings. In 1835, he travelled through Italy and spent 1836 in Provence. He exhibited in all the Paris Salons from 1837 to 1841 as well as at the Salon of 1844. While he specialized in architectural paintings and landscapes, he also painted portraits.

From 1840 to 1844, Marilhat painted a number of works inspired by his travels including Ruines de la mosquée El-Hakem au Caire, said to have captured the monumentality of the ruins and the romanticism of the location. Theophile Gautier was deeply moved by his Place de l’Esbekieh au Caire, remarking: " On seeing this painting, I became sick at heart, and yearned for the Orient, in which I had not yet set foot." At the Salon of 1844, his Souvenir des bords du Nil was praised, as was Arabes syriens en voyage, now in the Musée Condé, Chantilly.

Suffering from syphilis, Prosper Marilhat became insane and died in a Paris asylum in September 1847, only 36 years old. More on Prosper Marilhat

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01 Orientalist Painting, Jean-Léon Gérôme's Cafe House, Cairo (Casting Bullets), with footnotes, #118

Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, Vesoul 1824–1904 Paris)

 Cafe House, Cairo (Casting Bullets), c. 1884 or earlier

Oil on canvas

21 1/2 x 24 3/4 in. (54.6 x 62.9 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

While two mercenaries cast bullets and a third, seated behind them, seems to be inspecting one, others engage in revelry and a man and woman converse. Despite these apparent incongruities, the meticulous painting technique renders the scene convincing. Gérôme traveled to Egypt many times from 1855 onward. His recollections of these journeys, together with objects that he brought back to Paris, became ingredients for scenes which today might be regarded as historical fictions. The title of this work derives from the stock book of Gérôme’s dealer, who bought the painting from the artist in 1884, presumably soon after he finished it. More on this painting

Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits, and other subjects, bringing the academic painting tradition to an artistic climax. He is considered one of the most important painters from this academic period. He was also a teacher with a long list of students. More on Jean-Léon Gérôme

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest and deviantart

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01 Orientalist Painting, Georg Macco's Bab Zuwayla, Cairo, with footnotes, #118

Georg Macco (German, 1863-1933)

The Orange Seller, Outside Bab Zuwayla, Cairo, c. 1907

Oil on canvas

19 x 28½ in. (48.3 x 72.4 cm.)

Private collection

In the present painting the stand of the orange seller is placed just outside the Bab Zuwayla, the Southern Gate of Cairo's Fatimid enclosure. Looking in through the archway, on the right one can see the Sabil-Kuttab of Nafisa Bayda (1796). On the left, there is an indistinct rendering of the facade of the Mosque-Mausoleum of Sultan Mu'ayyad, 1415-20. 

Its name comes from Bab, meaning "gate", and Zuwayla, as its in the Western Gate of the city that had a trade route for overland travelers. More on this painting

Bab Zuweila is one of three remaining gates in the walls of the Old City of Cairo. It was also known as Bawabbat al-Mitwali during the Ottoman period. It is considered one of the major landmarks of the city and is the last remaining southern gate from the walls of Shia Islamic Fatimid Cairo in the 11th and 12th century. More on Bab Zuweila 

Nafisa al-Bayda began her life as a slave and then was married in the mid 1700s to a man of power in the state named Ali Bey. Afterwards, she married the wealthy Murad Bey who was at first a Mamluk, but then later rose to power in 1784 and became the leader of the resistance against the Napoleon Bonaparte invasion.

Lady Nafisa al-Bayda, meaning the white one, was a woman of beauty, wealth, charity and known to be of great culture. She is also a symbol for womens participation in those days to the political life. During her husbands resistance, she played a major role in helping him acting as an intermediate between him and Napoleon. More on Lady Nafisa al-Bayda

Georg Macco (23 March 1863, Aachen - 20 April 1933, Genoa) was a German landscape painter and illustrator, associated with the Düsseldorfer Malerschule. He is primarily known for his Orientalist works.

He was inspired by stories of his great-great-uncle, the history and portrait painter Alexander Macco, who painted a portrait of the Queen of Prussia and was a close friend of Beethoven and Goethe. His artistic career began at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 188o, where he studied with Eugen Dücker and Johann Peter Theodor Janssen until 1887. During this time, he also contributed illustrations to Die Gartenlaube and drawings of coats-of-arms for his brother, Hermann Friedrich Macco, who was an historian and genealogist.

He moved to Munich to further his studies and used that city as a base for his numerous travels, beginning with mountainous regions from Italy to Spitsbergen. Later, he travelled throughout the Mediterranean region, visiting such then-exotic locations as Istanbul, Baalbek, Jerusalem, Cairo and the vicinity of Mecca. The works he produced as a result of these travels would eventually become his most popular and sought after.

His works may be seen at the Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf, the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen, the Rudolfinum in Prague and the Alpines Museum in Munich. Some of his works in Aachen were previously on the "Schattengalerie" (shadow gallery) list of works looted by the Nazis during World War II. Other works, not yet displayed, have been uncovered at the Simferopol Art Museum. More on Georg Macco

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01 Painting by the Orientalist Artists in the Nineteenth-Century, with footnotes, 68

Raphael von Ambros, 1845-1895, AUSTRIAN

THE TOBACCO SELLER, CAIRO, c. 1891

Oil on panel

75 by 62cm., 29½ by 24¼in.

Private collection

Von Ambros depicts a busy tobacco stall outside a coffee shop in the streets of Cairo. On the left, two young men roll cigarettes which have been neatly hung by the merchant on his stall. On the right, a customer samples a cigarette, pondering a purchase. Above the stall on a shelf stand five glass narghile, or hookah vessels. Water pipes were an alternative method of tobacco consumption introduced to the Middle east and Europe from India. More on this painting

Born in Prague, Raphael von Ambros was a pupil of Hans Makart (1840-1884) at the famous Vienna Academy, where he would have studied alongside an extraordinary generation of Orientalist painters such as Jean Discart (French, 1856-1944), Ludwig Deutsch (1855-1935) and Rudolf Ernst (1854-1932). Like his contemporaries, Ambros found the perfect audience for his Cairo street scenes at the Paris Salon, where he exhibited from 1887. More on Raphael von Ambros

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, And visit my Boards on Pinterest

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01 Paintings by the Orientalist Artists in the Nineteenth-Century, with footnotes, 36

Raphael von Ambros, 1845-1895, AUSTRIAN

THE BAKER'S SHOP, CAIRO, c. 1889

Oil on panel

38.5 by 47cm., 15¼ by 18½in.

Private collection

Von Ambros established his reputation as a masterful observer of scenes of everyday life in Cairo, painted with the greatest attention to verisimilitude and detail.  

Here,  a woman wearing a black niqāb and a lapis lazuli necklace serves refreshments of freshly baked Egyptian flat bread known as aish baladi and bowls of milk or water bread to passers-by. Opening on to the street, her stall offers other local produce, including eggs and vegetables.


Von Ambros settled in Paris where he found a ready market for his Egyptian subjects. Inspired by his first hand observations during his travels, he was aided by sketches and no doubt by photography. More on this painting

Born in Prague, Raphael von Ambros was a pupil of Hans Makart (1840-1884) at the famous Vienna Academy, where he would have studied alongside an extraordinary generation of Orientalist painters such as Jean Discart (French, 1856-1944), Ludwig Deutsch (1855-1935) and Rudolf Ernst (1854-1932). Like his contemporaries, Ambros found the perfect audience for his Cairo street scenes at the Paris Salon, where he exhibited from 1887. More on Raphael von Ambros

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, and The Canals of Venice

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01 Paintings by the Orientalist Artists in the Nineteenth-Century, with footnotes, 20

Raphael von Ambros, 1845-1895, AUSTRIAN

MERCHANT BEFORE THE SABIL OF NAFISA AL-BAYDA, CAIRO

Oil on panel

46 by 31cm., 18 by 12¼in.

Private collection

This Ottoman building built by Nafisa al-Bayda dates back to the year of 1796 AD.

Nafisa al-Bayda began her life as a slave and then was married in the mid 1700s to a man of power in the state named Ali Bey. Afterwards, she married the wealthy Murad Bey who was at first a Mamluk, but then later rose to power in 1784 and became the leader of the resistance against the Napoleon Bonaparte invasion.


Lady Nafisa al-Bayda, meaning the white one, was a woman of beauty, wealth, charity and known to be of great culture. She is also a symbol for womens participation in those days to the political life. During her husbands resistance, she played a major role in helping him acting as an intermediate between him and Napoleon. More on Nafisa al-Bayda

Born in Prague, Raphael von Ambros was a pupil of Hans Makart (1840-1884) at the famous Vienna Academy, where he would have studied alongside an extraordinary generation of Orientalist painters such as Jean Discart (French, 1856-1944), Ludwig Deutsch (1855-1935) and Rudolf Ernst (1854-1932). Like his contemporaries, Ambros found the perfect audience for his Cairo street scenes at the Paris Salon, where he exhibited from 1887. More on Raphael von Ambros

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, and The Canals of Venice

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

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01 Paintings by the Orientalist Artists in the Nineteenth-Century, with footnotes, 19

Charles Wilda, 1854 - 1907, GERMAN

A SOUK IN CAIRO, c. 1887

Oil on panel

63 by 47cm., 25 by 18½in.

Private collection

Open air markets in Old Cairo are called a “souk” in Arabic. You’ll find these types of markets in all Middle Eastern countries.  The tradition of buying and selling, haggling and bargaining among the crowds has being going on for centuries already.

Charles Wilda (born December 20, 1854 in Vienna as Karl Wilda , † June 11, 1907 ibid) was an Austrian painter of Viennese Orientalism . Wilda studied as a pupil of the painter Leopold Carl Müller at the Vienna Academy . He belonged to the center of Austrian Oriental painting.

In his paintings, the daily life in Cairo, where he frequented, played the most important role. His paintings have titles such as "The Snake Charmer" or "The Storyteller". In 1892 he undertook an Egyptian journey with the same-age sculptor Arthur Strasser.

Since 1880s, he exhibited almost regularly at the Vienna Annual Exhibition , the Berlin International Art Exhibition , the Munich Annual Exhibition or the Dresden International Art Exhibition . At the Paris World Exposition in 1900 he was well represented with some of his works. 


The tomb of Charles Wilda at the Vienna Central Cemetery, designed by Hella Unger, 1909. More on Charles Wilda

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

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Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.