Lot 73: Willem de Famars Testas (Dutch, 1834-1896)

An oasis in Egypt signed 'WTestas.' (lower left) oil on canvas 36 x 54.5 cm. NOTES Willem de Famars Testas was born in 1834 in Utrecht. After having finished his studies at the Academy of The Hague, he had the opportunity to join the party of Emile Prisse d' Avennes, a distant relative, on an oriental expedition. The goal of this expedition was to record Arab monuments as illustrations for Prisse's books 'L'Art Arabe' and 'L'histoire de l'art gypti‚n. The party was to comprise of the author, a draughtsman, a photographer and Willem de Famars Testas. His presence was to benefit his own personal development but he was subsequently recruited as draughtsman because the official one never appeared. After returning from his expedition to Holland after two years, the artist not only had a great number of drawings for Prisse, but also a vast collection of sketches of animals, objects and landscapes. These sketches were the basis for his oeuvre, which mainly consists of every day life in the Orient. After having made contact with several international artdealers he was invited in 1868 by the famous French Orientalist Jean-Leon G‚rome (1824-1904) to join a number of his fellow artists on a trip to the Orient. Following this second trip to the Orient Willem de Famars Testas moved to Brussels in 1872. This composition depicts a scene on the outskirts of an Egyptian town where desert and town meet. In the present lot his use of warm colours, animals and local dress are a fine example of Willem de Famars Testas ability to render the flavour of the Orient on canvas.