01 Nov
Project Description
Description: Oil on canvas, 25.6 x 41 cm. Signed 'TH. BROTHER '(lower left), titled and countersigned 'Desert of Libya. / Th. Brother '(on the reverse)Catalogue note: Charles Théodore Frère, a French painter, studied under landscape artists Jules Coignet and Camille Roqueplan. On completing his apprenticeship, he travelled extensively in France, exhibiting at the Salon in 1834, 1835 and 1836. After a visit to Algeria in 1837, he exhibited his first Orientalist painting at the Salon in 1839 and from then on painted only scenes of the Muslim world. He stayed in Algeria for a year, painting several large pictures, which were later bought by King Wurttemberg. In 1851, he journeyed Malta, Greece and Smyrna on his way to Constantinople where he stayed for eighteen months. He then went on to Syria, Palestine, Nubia and Egypt, where he had a studio in Cairo. After three years of travelling, he returned to Paris. He took part in the Paris Universal Exhibitions of 1855, 1867 and 1878. He made his last journey to Egypt in 1869 for the inauguration of the Suez Canal in the company of Empress Eugénie and her entourage. Frère's talent and appeal lies in his ability to create atmospheric scenes. He died in 1888, Paris.
Provenance: Acquired from Christie’s, Sale 16485, Lot 71, Invoice no. DB18003025.
Catalogue no.: 2018P0050-CTF
