Lot 97: STANISLAUS VON CHLEBOWSKI POLISH, 1835-1884 PRAYERTIME

signed S. Chlebowski l.l.

oil on canvas

CATALOGUE NOTE

Chlebowski was born in Podolia, Ukraine, and began his artistic training in St. Petersburg, before enrolling at the Paris Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where he became a pupil of Jean-Léon Gérôme (see lot 104). Under Gérôme's tutelage Chlebowski learned how to paint in the French academic tradition, with its focus on a high finish and excellent details. Evidence of his French training is clearly visible in the skilfull handling of the figures, in the rendition of the textures of fabrics and carpets, and the carefully observed architectural details in the present work.

Chlebowski stayed in Constantinople from 1861 to 1876 at the invitation of Abd-al-Aziz. During his time there he specialised in painting scenes from Turkish everyday life. The present work shows men at prayer in the Yesil Cami also known as the Green Mosque in Bursa, in Western Anatolia. Built in 1422 for Sultan Mehmet I it is known for its magnificent Iznic tile decorations and purity of style. One of the most beautiful of Ottoman mosques, it was also painted by the Turkish artist Osman Hamdi Bey, another pupil of Gérôme, in his painting Koran Instruction (fig 1).

Fig 1: Osman Hamdi Bey, Koran Instruction, 1890
343D05101

65.5 by 50.2cm., 25 3/4 by 19 3/4 in.