Evening Prayer, a recently discovered painting by one of the best-known French Orientalist artists, Jean-Léon Gérôme, will be a highlight of the sale of American and European works of Art at Skinner in Boston on September 21.
Gérôme started on the path to Orientalism in 1856 when he made the first of a number of trips to Egypt. His Middle Eastern subjects were hugely popular with his clientele – at least three different versions of this subject are known, as well as numerous reproductions and copies. The scene shows men in various positions associated with the prayer, performed on the housetops of Cairo as well as architecturally identifiable buildings.