Object Description
Large antique Orientalist oil painting by Jean Baptiste Louis Guy
French, 1884
Canvas: Height 49cm, width 67cm
Frame: Height 72cm, width 91cm, depth 9cm
Painted in 1884 by the French artist Jean Baptiste Louis Guy (1824-1888), the painting depicts a serene Orientalist scene filled with figures and animals. Louis Guy’s artworks are in the collections of several museums such as the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum.
In the foreground is a male figure sitting atop a donkey. Both the animal and the man are carrying baskets filled with goods, suggesting they are on their way back from a market. The bright yellow shoes are a striking feature drawing one’s eye to the centre of the composition. Behind the central figure is a slightly busier setting with many people resting on the curb, walking their animals, or packing their purchases. Most are dressed in cream-coloured garments, with several pops of colour spread throughout the painting. While Louis Guy mostly depicted donkeys in this painting, a lone dog is sleeping on the sandy ground.
The background is filled with a stone building which appears to be a market. Next to it is a pair of bright green doors leading to a further part of the village, which the observer is unable to see. A lush composition of green palm trees emerges from behind the building while most of the upper part of the piece is filled with a superb blue sky.
In the lower right, the canvas is signed ‘Louis Guy 1884’, and the painting is framed in an elaborate giltwood frame.
Louis Guy brilliantly painted this scene, making it a very desirable and beautiful example of Orientalist art.