ID: 700008285 Page link: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/cona/700008285	Record Type: Movable Work
Images: 1

Portrait of an Egyptian Fellah (drawing (visual work); Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824 - 1904) (French Arti...; about 1856; J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles, Los A...; 2010.16; )

Note: The drawing is a study for the seated fellah, or peasant, in Gérôme's 1859 painting Un Hache-paille égyptien (Egyptian Chaff-cutter), which he exhibited at the Salon of 1861 and the Exposition universelle in 1867, where it was bought by the artist's father-in-law, the dealer Adolphe Goupil. In 1856 Gérôme made his first trip to Egypt in the company of Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904) and the playwright Emile Augier (1820-1889). He travelled for four months sailing down the Nile and later spent four months in a house in Cairo rented from Soliman Pacha, the assumed name of Joseph Sève (1788-1860), an old hussar in Napoleon's Grand Army revered by the Egyptians. In focusing on the agricultural and pastoral character of Egypt, Un Hache-paille is particularly noteworthy, for it deviates from the more popular military scenes painted by contemporary European artists during the Ottoman reign. Gérôme visited Egypt again in 1858, 1861 and 1869, accompanied on the 1869 trip by Eugène Fromentin (1820-1876) and Théophile Gautier (1811-1872) to see the opening of the Suez Canal; he made further visits in 1871, 1874 and 1880. This drawing, made during his first trip in 1856, formed part of an album of fourteen similar drawings made during his Egyptian travels. Like other drawings from the series it bears the sitter's name inscribed in Arabic, Housne Khalf El Lahe. The inscriptions were likely added by another hand; it is doubtful that Gérôme himself was able to write in Arabic.This drawing was lithographed, under Gérôme's supervision, by his pupil Charles Bargue (1826/7-1883), for their joint project, the Cours de dessin, perhaps the most influential drawing course ever devised, published in Paris between 1866 and 1871. The Cours de dessin consisted of nearly 200 lithographs by Bargue, divided into three sections, in ascending order of difficulty, which were to be copied by art and design students before attempting to draw from the live model. The first section included lithographs after plaster casts, sumptuously modeled to emphasize sculptural qualities; the second comprised reproductions of drawings by Renaissance and modern artists; and the last consisted of 60 exemplary drawings by Bargue after the nude. That Bargue and Gérôme chose this particular drawing for inclusion in a selection of Old Master and modern works suggests that in terms of quality, it more than holds its own in company with masterpieces of the past; it is also interesting to note that it is one of only two non-European subjects portrayed in this section of 67 plates.

Titles:

Portrait of an Egyptian Fellah (preferred,C,U,RP,English-P,,)

Catalog Level: item

Work Types:

drawing (visual work) [300033973] (preferred)

..... (Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by material or technique>)

Classifications:

drawings (preferred)

Creation Date: about 1856

Creator Display:

Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824 - 1904) (French Artist) [preferred,JPGM]

draftsman Gerome, Jean Leon (French painter and sculptor, 1824-1904) [500115563]

Locations:

Current: J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles, Los Angeles county, California, United States) [500329598] J. Paul Getty Museum, J. Paul Getty Trust, Corporate Bodies (Corp. Body)

Repository Numbers: 2010.16

Other: Creation: Miṣr [7016833] Africa (continent), World (facet) (Geographic)

Display Materials: Black chalk

	black chalk [300080058]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by composition>, inorganic material, chalk)

Dimensions: 26.7 x 16.2 cm (10 1/2 x 6 3/8 in.)

Cultures:

French (preferred)

General Subject:

portraits (preferred)

Specific Subjects:

	man (male human) [300025928]
	.....(Agents Facet, People (hierarchy name), people (agents), <people by gender or sex>) (AAT)

	fellah [300263945]
	.....(Agents Facet, People (hierarchy name), people (agents), <people by occupation>, <people in agriculture or natural resource occupations>, <people in agriculture>, farmers (people in agriculture), peasants) (AAT)

	portrait [300015637]
	.....(Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by subject type>) (AAT)

	unknown Egyptian (modern) (modern Egyptian cultural designation) [500203245]
	.....(Unknown People by Culture) (ULAN)

Inscriptions: Inscribed in Arabic, lower right, Housne Khalf El Lahe

List/Hierarchical Position:

..... Movable Works

.......... Movable Works by class: drawings, paintings, prints, other two-dimensional media

Sources and Contributors:
Portrait of an Egyptian Fellah	........ [JPGM,VP]
	........ J. Paul Getty Museum database for collections (2000-)

Subject: ....... [JPGM,VP]

Note:
English	..... [JPGM]
	..... J. Paul Getty Museum database for collections (2000-)