A Tangerian BeautyArtist: José Tapiró i Baró (1836-1913)
Title: A Tangerian Beauty
Signed:
Medium: Watercolor/Aquarelle
Size: 26 x 18 1/2 in.
Spanish Orientalist
This image was provided by my Spanish artist friend Alejandro Cabeza
Tapiró Baró painted a number of Orientalist images, the result of time spent in Tangier, the Moroccan city just across the narrow Strait of Gibraltar, where he eventually died. In this vivid watercolor, the silken gleam of the headscarf, the glint of gold, the glow of pearls, and the careful study of a particular physiognomy contribute to the remarkable immediacy of the image. The frame is original to this work, and apart from several decorative motifs, contains the number 1309, which probably refers to the Muslim calendar of the Hegira, which started counting in 622 AD and commemorates the prophet Muhammed's departure from Mecca. If converted to the Gregorian calendar, the year would be about 1891 AD.
Source: Dahesh Museum
To see other works by this artist visit my José Tapiró i Baró blog.
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3 comments:
I've been told often that this painting looks exactly like me -- so much that people assume (I use it as an avatar, have it at my home, etc.) that it is me and are shocked that it is not.
I was drawn to this painting a long time ago, not thinking it looking like me, but feeling a connection to it.
This painting is now being shown at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Montréal; I saw it last night and it took my breath away. The original doesn't look like a watercolor, or a photograph, but looks like real life. I half-expected the woman in the painting to start talking; it has a very three-dimensional feeling. Although it's listed as a watercolor, I assume that means gouache (opaque waterocolor), since I don't think it would be possible to produce this painting using transparent watercolor. It's a stunning work.
How exciting to see the painting in person. Thank you for sharing your experience with me.
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