Pierre Tetar Van Elven - Young Woman At The Well

Pierre TETAR VAN ELVEN
Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, 1828 - Milan, 1908
Young woman at the well
Oil on canvas
41 x 33 cm (47 x 41 cm with frame)
Signed lower right "PT Van Elven"
Very good condition
Beautiful antique gilded wood stick painted black

Pierre Henri Théodore Tétar van Elven was a 19th-century Dutch painter and printmaker. He painted landscapes, Italian urban views and genre scenes.
In 1864, Pierre moved to Paris, where he lived until 1879. He exhibited at the Paris Salon. It was at this time that he began his career as an ornztialist painter, traveling to the Orient. In 1866, he embarked on a long journey with Tinco Lycklama to Tunisia and Turkey. He also visited Syria, Palestine and Jerusalem.
Van Elven can be seen in the former Musée de la Castre in Cannes, now the Musée des Explorations du Monde, with a costume ball at the home of Baron Lycklama, which he painted in 1874. The Musée Carnavalet also preserves a painting commissioned by Empress Eugénie of France, depicting the visit of the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia to the French court during the Universal Exhibition, entitled "Fête de nuit aux Tuileries, le 10 juillet 1867". In 1874, Emperor Peter II of Brazil visited Pierre van Elven in his Paris studio.
Our painting, which comes from a French collection, is an attractive Orientalist genre scene. A woman dressed in black goes to the well to draw water with her jar. The colors are remarkable, especially the black, a rare color in painting, but very elegant here. The delicacy of the landscape on the left recalls Van Elven's skill as a landscape painter. The sun is very much in evidence, and the charm of this painting comes from the sun's strong presence, illuminating the entire scene and giving a sense of warmth, combined with cooler shadows, such as the one in the background on the left, where another figure is standing, and the one under the well, sheltered by the foliage of a tree. The woman's beautiful black-and-gold costume is a perfect match for the black and gold that dominate the entire composition! A very fine, elegant and beautiful work of art!