Lot 166: Willem de Famars Testas (Dutch, 1834-1896)

Binnenplein te Kairo: on an Oriental square
signed 'WTestas' (lower right)
pencil, watercolour and gouache on paper
48 x 34.5 cm.

The Hague, Haags Gemeentemuseum, year unknown, cat.no. 650, as: Binnenplein te Kaire.

From the artist's estate to his daughter, Marie Madelaine de Famars Testas (1885-1945).
A gift from Mrs M.M. de Famars Testas to the parents of the present owner.

In 1858, Testas was given an opportunity that would have a far-reaching effect on his artistic career. Via a distant relative, Testas was put in touch with Emile Prisse d'Avenne (1807-1879), an experienced Parisian archaeologist who was about to undertake a trip to Egypt. Prisse's expedition started out in Alexandria and subsequently took Testas to Cairo where, for the duration of a year, they lead a hard-working and solitary life.

In contrast to his French and English colleagues, who nurtured a strong liking for sumptuous and imaginary depictions of harems, palaces and colourful interiors of mosques, Testas' work was realistic and clearly revealed his training as an archaeological draughtsman.
Altough Orientalism made a furore internationally, the Dutch taste for this genre never fully developed and Testas' real breakthrough only came when his work was discovered by the renowned Parisian artdealer Albert Goupil (1840-1884).

Although Testas had established a considerable reputation by this time, he was eventually forced to exchange his native town Utrecht for Brussels, where the art climate was more favourable. Following this move, Testas also dedicated himself to picturing episodes from Dutch history and made book illustrations for works by amongst others Jakob van Lennep. Until his death in 1896, Testas' main source of inspiration would however remain the trips he had made to the Middle East.

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