Marius Bauer - Etching, A Sultan with entourage - Sold

Small etching (image H. 6 x W. 14 cm) from 1889 by Marius Bauer, Printed on a sheet of H. 23 x 33 cm Marius Bauer (1867-1932), painter of the Orient
Marius Bauer was 21 years old when he embarked on his first big voyage. This journey, in the autumn of 1888, took him to Istanbul. There he became forever captivated by the East. A letter to his mother shows the effect that this completely unknown world had on him: 'I now have a fixed goal in mind, something that I completely missed before then.' Thus began a life of travel and trekking that would provide the breeding ground for his works of art. He visited the Near East several times, but he also went to Russia, India, North Africa and even to Indo-China and the Dutch East Indies. Initially he almost always traveled alone, later he was accompanied by Jo Stumpff (1873-1964), whom he married in 1902 and traveled to Spain.
Bauer was born in The Hague in 1867. Artistic education and the development of artistic interests were an important part of his upbringing. His parents believed that drawing instruction was important, so Marius was given the opportunity to develop his artistic talent at an early age. So he was accepted at the Hague Academy at the age of twelve. Education there kept a distance from current developments in art, such as the Hague School. Ultimately, Bauer left the academy without taking the exam. He then moved into a studio, attended the drawing evenings of the artists' association Pulchri Studio and received a 'grant' from King Willem III. This earned him an annual allowance for two years, allowing him to live and work without any worries. In the late 1980s he regularly went to Amsterdam, where the focus of Dutch cultural life was at that time.