12 - Félix ZIEM (1821–1911)

Félix ZIEM (1821–1911) View of the Bosphorus Oil on panel Signed lower left 38 x 46 cm A certificate from the Félix Ziem Association, represented by David Pluskwa and Mathias Ary Jan, will be provided to the buyer. An internationally renowned travel painter and a leading figure of the Barbizon School, Félix Ziem is one of the preeminent masters of 19th-century luminous landscape painting. Connected to the South of France through his studio in Martigues, he was the first artist to have a work acquired by the Louvre during his lifetime. His popularity stems from his unique mastery of water reflections and oriental light. Fascinated by the Mediterranean, Ziem undertook several trips to the Levant beginning in 1847, spending extended periods in Constantinople, Egypt, and Smyrna. This lot depicts one of his most sought-after favorite subjects: the shores of the Bosphorus. Eschewing rigid architectural detail, he focused on the atmosphere and the reflections of light on the sea to offer a poetic vision of these landscapes he loved so dearly.