Lot number 2151 - Auction 150
RAST DER KARAWANE, 1902

GUSTAVO SIMONI 1846 Rome - 1926 Palestrina THE HALT OF THE CARAVAN, 1902 Watercolor over pencil on paper. 61 x 91 cm. Signed and dated lower left: "G. Simoni Roma 1902." Gustavo Simoni, a native of Rome, received his artistic training at the prestigious Accademia di San Luca and was among the founding members of the Society of Watercolorists. From the late 1870s onwards, he increasingly turned to North African subjects. His travels to Algeria and Morocco, inspired by the Moorish architecture of Andalusia, shaped his artistic vision for many years. Simoni spent extended periods in the historic Algerian city of Tlemcen, which served as a base for his expeditions through the deserts and cities of the Maghreb. His breakthrough came in 1889, when he was awarded a gold medal at the Paris Salon. Among his patrons was King Umberto?I. Closely connected with the French art scene, which had established Orientalism as an important artistic and commercial genre, Simoni opened a studio in Paris and founded a school of Orientalist painting in Rome in the 1890s. Like many of his contemporaries in French and Italian Orientalism, Simoni devoted himself to depicting the Islamic world. This movement, which arose in 19th-century France at the intersection of Romanticism and Neoclassicism, reached its peak in the second half of the century. Orientalist artists often sought to combine documentary accuracy with painterly poetry. Simoni, in particular, found inspiration in direct observation and a genuine empathy for the lives, traditions, and everyday labors of nomadic tribes. The present work depicts an evening halt of a caravan beneath the soft glow of the setting sun. Figures bathed in warm evening light convey the fatigue of a long journey. In the pink haze of dusk, the silhouette of a city-presumably their destination-appears on the horizon. While retaining hallmarks of the Orientalist genre, such as a vibrant palette and meticulous attention to everyday objects and textiles, Simoni avoids any overt romanticization. His protagonists-barefoot men in worn garments, some gazing directly at the viewer-are rendered with respect and unembellished authenticity, as if captured through the lens of a camera.