Charles Hirlemann (xix-xx) - Orientalist Nude Woman On An Elephant

Charles Hirlemann (XIX-XX)
Orientalist nude woman on an elephant
Unsigned yet titled (bought as a pair with the watercolour of the nude couple)
Watercolor on paper
Inner dimensions 25 x 15 cm
Frame dimensions 40 x 30 x 2 cm
Dark green velvet frame

This early 20th century watercolour is a colourful orientalist scene depicting a nude woman seated on an elephant following a guide. Covered with fiery red drapes, the focus is drawn to the beautiful seated woman and her embellished elephant, whilst the green and blue tones of the tropical forest transport the viewer into another world.

Orientalist art refers to the representation of the East in Western art which often blurred the line between fantasy and reality. This art movement reached its height during the 19th century, and continued into the early 20th century. Orientalist paintings and watercolours were popular in the 19th century, as Europeans and North Americans increasingly turned their attentions to cultures overseas and wanted to decorate their homes with unknown, inspiring scenes of Middle Eastern and North African lands.

Charles Hirlemann, a French painter and illustrator, was born at the end of the 19th century. Hirlemann was active in the first half of the 20th century as a painter and illustrator. Not much is known of him. However, As a publishing illustrator, his name appeared in the newspaper Pèle-Mêle in 1913, and he was mentioned again in a book in 1947.