Lot 795: Graafland, Robert1875 Maastricht - 1940 Heerlen Oriental scene.

Graafland, Robert
1875 Maastricht - 1940 Heerlen

Oriental scene.
Signed and dated lower right: Graafland 1901. Oil on canvas. Relined. 90 x 123cm. Framed.

Provenance:
Private collection, Holland.

In a photograph from 1900 the artist, Graafland is in his studio, working on an early version of the above painting, while holding an easel in his hand. Slight adjustments were later made to the painting such as the addtions to the background-right area.

After the success caused from this studio photograph, in which the painting can be identified, Monique Dickhaut, from Museum aam het Vrijthof in Maastricht, expressed her interest in using this photo in the monographic exhibition to commemorate the artist's 140th birthday in 2015.

Both pieces are important to Graaflant for various reasons: they document a period of his work, in which he - against his maxim only to paint issues which he saw as real - painted scenes from operas. Very few works from this period 1906 remain, as Graafland destroyed most of them himself.