Oriental beauty with sineklik

Description of the artwork

During his fifteen years in the Orient, Pinel de Grandchamp forged a solid reputation among the world's greatest leaders, whose portraits he was able to paint. His return to France was marked by the exhibition of his Orientalist paintings, inspired by his travels. His Turkish beauties were particularly appreciated at the Salon, as were his intimate canvases depicting scenes of daily life.

In our painting, we can see the quality of the portraitist, who captures the grace of his model in a subtle play of chiaroscuro. The young woman's face is turned towards a window or door, from which the light reflects on her face, revealing its beauty. In her hand, she holds an elegant sineklik, an Ottoman flyswatter made of wood, trimmings and palm leaves, an identical model of which can be seen today in the Musée national Eugène Delacroix.
She has placed her hands on a Chinese-decorated chest from which she has undoubtedly taken out the jade-beaded necklace encircled on her wrist and traditionally worn by Chinese nobility.