Théodore Scaramanga Ralli

Théodore Jacques Ralli (Greek, 1852-1909) An offertory candle signed 'Ralli' (lower left) oil on canvas 56 x 38 cm. PROVENANCE: Christies London, Sale of 11.5.1984, lot 139. Acquired from the above sale by the present owner. Capturing the beauty of holiness and the holiness of beauty, this wonderful vignette of peasant piety evokes a noble sentiment of relaxed meditation and pensive tenderness. "Ralli's art is best represented in his 'prayer scenes' in which idealised figures immersed in a spiritual ambiance convey a feeling of veneration and religiosity. The human forms harmoniously match the austerity of the Byzantine church, which the artist became familiar with during his travels to Mt. Athos, Meteora and other parts of mainland Greece." 1 (Compare Young woman lighting a candle in a church, Athens, Y. Perdios collection.) Moulded by a beam of invading light, the beautiful face of the young Greek maiden strongly contrasts with the dark interior lit by the flickering candles, while in the dim light, four sacred figures painted on the background wall loom as transcendental presences, enhancing the poetry of the scene. As noted by former Athens National Gallery Director A. Ioannou, "the Orthodox religious atmosphere in the dark interior of a small Greek village church could have found no better interpreter than Ralli." 2 1 . M. Papanikolaou, Greek Genre Painting of the Nineteenth Century [in Greek], Thessaloniki, 1978, pp. 8-9. 2 . A. Ioannou, Greek Painting , Melissa publ., Athens 1974, p. 244.

** Theodore Jacques Ralli 1852-1909 (Greek) Wailling Wall, Jerusalem oil on panel h:27 w:34 cm. Provenance: The estate of the artist. Sale: S. Mihalarias auctions, 6 June 1988, lot 58. Sale: P. Vergos auctions, 29 April 2004, lot 16. Private collection, Athens. Sale: Bonhams, London, November 10, 2009, lot 3. Acquired at the above sale by the present owner. Estimate $ 45,000-55,000

LOT 31 THÉODORE-JACQUES RALLI ISTANBUL 1852 - 1909 LAUSANNE, ÉCOLE GRECQUE LE SERPENT SACRÉ THÉODORE-JACQUES RALLI ; THE SACRED SERPENT ; SIGNED LOWER RIGHT ; OIL ON CANVAS Signé en bas à droite Ralli Huile sur toile 41,4 x 32,3 cm ; 16 1/4 by 12 3/4 in

Theodore Jacques Ralli (Greek, 1852-1909) Repos au bain signed and dated 'Ralli 88' (lower right) oil on canvas 18 x 15 in. (45.7 x 38.1 cm.) Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 3 November 1977, lot 164. Acquired at the above sale by the current owner. THE PROPERTY OF A LADY Paris, Salon, 1889, no. 2233. Théodore-Jacques Ralli was the most important Greek artist of the 19th century to work in the Academic tradition. He studied in Paris under Jean-Léon Gérôme and Lecomte de Nouy, and at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. From 1875, he was a regular exhibitor at the Salon, where the present painting was presented in 1889. Ralli is most famed as an Orientalist artist in the style of Gérôme, qualities which are plainly apparent in this depiction of a Turkish bath. Ralli was born in Constantinople, and travelled several times to the Near East and North Africa; this gave him an innate understanding of his Orientalist subject matter, and resulted in a style that was somewhat less detached than that of his French master. This is particularly evident in Ralli's treatment of the female nude, which, as here, is typically executed in more languid, and less marmoreal style than Gérôme. Given the importance of the nude in Academic painting it is hardly surprising that the Turkish bath should have been a favoured theme in both Ralli and Gérôme's oeuvre (fig. 1). Here, the woman is shown resting after her bath, while an attendant descends the stairs to dress her. The treatment of the walls, the raking light seen descending from an unseen source in the top corner of the composition, and the contrast in pose between the two figures are typical conventions of the genre, here rendered with great skill and the acute attention to detail which mark out Ralli's best paintings.

LOT 24 THEODOROS RALLI GREEK, 1852-1909 AT THE BATH signed upper left oil on canvas 30,000—40,000 GBP 35 by 27cm., 13¾ by 10½in. signed upper left oil on canvas Sale: Claude Aguttes, Paris, 10 December 2010, lot 115Purchased at the above sale by the present owner Paris, Salon, 1905, no. 1565 (as Bain Arabe) Maria Katsanaki, Le Peintre Théodore Ralli (1852-1909) et sonœuvre, PhD thesis, Paris, 2007, vol. 2, no. 319, illustrated.