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Eugène Fromentin
1820-1876
Bust of a Bearded Man Wearing a Turban
ca. 1858
Watercolor, over graphite, on paper.
4 1/4 x 3 1/2 inches (108 x 89 mm)
Bequest of John M. Thayer.
2005.81
Notes:
The inscription along the bottom of this watercolor, while hard to decipher, seems to indicate the artist's appreciation for the sitter's colorful garments. The words "orange" and "violette" are legible and correspond to the man's long orange vest over a violet kaftan. Similar figures appear in Fromentin's paintings of the 1850s. The large white turban suggests the sitter may be an Ottoman Turk, although such head coverings were common throughout North Africa.
Inscription:
Inscribed in pencil at lower center indistinctly in French; artist's estate stamp in red ink (L. 957) with the number "670" in center.
Provenance:
The artist's estate sale, Paris, F. Petit et Brame, 30 January-3 February 1877 (L. 957); Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990), New York; sale, New York, Christie's, 14 October 1993, lot 49; John M. Thayer (1945-2004), Wilmington, DE.
Associated names:
Forbes, Malcolm, former owner.
Thayer, John M. (John MacLane), 1944-2004, former owner.
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