580 - Charles Théodore FRÈRE, known as FRÈRE BEY (1814–1888)

Charles Théodore FRÈRE, known as FRÈRE BEY (1814–1888) The Temple of Philae Oil on canvas H_30.5 x W_54.2 cm Art dealer’s stamp on the back. Stamp of the art dealer Emmanuel Weyl, 15 rue Laffite and 19 rue du Bac in Paris, on the back of the frame. Related work: Théodore Frère, The Temple of Philae, oil on panel, 17.5 x 38 cm, Sotheby’s London auction on May 27, 2015, sold for €8,475 Born in Paris on June 21, 1814, Charles-Théodore Frère, known as Frère Bey, was a French Orientalist painter, the son of a music publisher and the older brother of the painter Pierre-Édouard Frère. Trained under Léon Cogniet and Camille Roqueplan, he began exhibiting at the Salon in 1834. A stay in Algeria, beginning in 1836–1837, had a profound influence on his work and steered him toward landscapes and scenes of Oriental life. Beginning in 1851, he traveled throughout the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East, notably to Constantinople, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, where he established a studio in Cairo. The viceroy of Egypt conferred upon him the honorary title of Bey. In 1869, he accompanied Empress Eugénie on her trip to Egypt for the inauguration of the Suez Canal, alongside painters such as Narcisse Berchère, Eugène Fromentin, Jean-Léon Gérôme, and Charles de Tournemine. He died in Paris on March 24, 1888. Our painting depicts the Temple of Philae in Egypt, with a group of women in the foreground. It is similar to a smaller oil-on-panel painting sold at Sotheby’s in 2015.