Charles James Theriat (1860-1937) Caravan Under The Sun Of El Kantara

Oil on canvas by the American painter Charles James Theriat (1860-1937), representing a caravan under the sun of El kantara (Algeria). The painting is dated 1908, accompanied by a signature and dedication: “To Maurice Quentin-Bauchart/His old friend, El Kantara - [19]08” at the bottom left. The El Kantara site is a natural and Roman archaeological site, classified and protected since 1923. Dimensions: 33.5 cm x 41.5 cm “It was probably at the beginning of the 1880s that Theriat followed the courses of the Académie Julian in Zaris, in as a student of Gustave Boulanger and Jules Lefebvre. His first works exhibited at the Salon (1885 and 1886) were portraits. From 1890, he began to present orientalist compositions at the Salon, mainly scenes from Biskra and Algiers. […] Most of what we know about this painter is recorded in an article in the Parisian edition of the New York Herald dated March 22, 1891: […] “[He] has an apartment in Paris, but life Oriental exerts such a fascination on him that Biskra has become his winter residence. Every year, he stays six or seven months in Algeria, and sometimes goes to the southernmost regions, to Touggourt or other places still little touched by Western civilization. » Gerald M. Ackerman, The Orientalists of the American School, ACR Edition, Courbevoie: 1994, p.202