This early 20th-century oil painting by Swedish artist Fredrik Waldemar (Baldomero) Fahlström (1870-1913) depicts a man dressed in middle-eastern clothing.
Cutting a fine form in profile, this young gentleman is rendered with a confident touch. His lilac garment an amalgamation of broad dashes in various tints, while his prominent features are highlighted.
Fahlström worked quickly here and it’s possibly a study undertaken during his time as a drawing teacher. Although, it’s equally plausible that, as a well-travelled man, the artist encountered the sitter during a visit to Morocco or Egypt. He’s wearing a turban and fez, which could signify religion, or alternatively as a status symbol. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, you needed wealth to travel.
Either way, it’s a masterful little piece.
Signed lower left and held within a later frame.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 22” x 25½” / 59cm x 65cm
Year of creation: c. 1910
Condition: Artwork presents well. Frame with some light wear.
Fredrik Waldemar (Baldomero) Fahlström
Fahlström worked as a drawing teacher at the military school in Valparaiso. He died young during a trip from Chile to Sweden.
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