Object Description
Orientalist watercolour of a woman and her maid by Giovanni Antonio Raggi
Italian, Late 19th Century
Paper: Height 55cm, width 37cm
Frame: Height 75cm, width 57.5cm, depth 3cm
This exquisite 19th-century watercolour by Giovanni Antonio Raggi (Italian, b. 1860) portrays a woman and her maid within a private domestic interior. Having lived and worked in Italy during the height of European fascination with the Orient, Raggi devoted much of his career to such scenes. Throughout his life, he became well known for depicting Orientalist interiors and exteriors; his watercolours, in particular, became highly desirable collectors’ items for their ability to use subtle tonal gradations and refined detail to evoke light, surface, and emotion with remarkable sensitivity.
This work focuses on a deeply private domestic act: as a supposedly wealthy, richly dressed woman reclines on patterned fabrics, her maid kneels at her feet, performing her grooming ritual. Every element—from the soft shimmer of the sitter’s silk garments to the intricate Moorish arches and verdant palms beyond—demonstrates Raggi’s command of both structure and mood. At the same time, the harmony of rose, turquoise, and warm ochre tones infuses the scene with a sense of languid elegance, while the translucent layering of pigment enhances its immediacy and depth.
The painting is signed ‘G. Raggi’ in the lower right corner.
Presented in a giltwood frame, it becomes an admirable addition to any collection of art.