Orientalist school, ca. 1900.

Orientalist school, ca. 1900.
"Man with turban".
Oil on canvas.
Signed "LAFFITTE" in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 37 x 27 cm; 46.5 x 36 cm (frame).

On a blue bottom that reflects the luminosity of the sky of the Arabian desert, the face of a man with the frown and expression of serene gravity is cut out. A white turban, drawn with economy of brushstroke, contrasts with his tanned skin. A thin mustache accentuates the restrained nobility of the countenance, which is presented somewhere between an ethnographic portrait and a symbolic evocation. Painting inscribed in the tradition of the pictorial orientalism of the 19th century, a trend that fascinated many European artists.