Lot 10: STANISLAUS VON CHLEBOWSKI

THE CIRCASSIAN GUARDS
signed St. Chlebowski and dated 1880 (lower right)

21 7/8 by 16 1/4 in. 55.5 by 41.2 cm

oil on canvas

Goupil & Cie, Paris
Private Collector (and sold: Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, June 4, 1975, lot 94)
Acquired at the above sale

Chlebowski was born in Podole, located in south-central Poland. The artist began his drawing studies in Odessa before moving on to the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg and then spent six years in Jean-Leon Gérôme's Paris studio. While Chlebowski painted a wide variety of oils and watercolor compositions, his most notable works depicted the historical battles, people, and history of Turkey and other Orientalist subjects, all inspired by his years as attaché at the Court of Sultan Abdülaziz In the present work, Chlebowski depicts two Circassian guards, recognizable by their fur-trimmed hats and long coats decorated by both traditional and more modern weapons (the long rifles and bullet belts hung across their shoulders). Historically known as northwest Caucasus, Circassia designates a people rather than an exact geographic location. After the fall of Circassia to the Russians and subsequent massacres of the Circassian tribes in 1864, remaining members left for the Ottoman Empire, where many were employed in military service.