PHILAE ▲ Christa Zaat

Christa Zaat



Auguste Veillon (Swiss painter) 1834 - 1890
The Temple at Philae, s.d.
oil on canvas
47.5 x 81 cm. (18.75 x 31.75 in.)
signed 'A Veillon' (lower left)
private collection
© photo Christie's

Catalogue Note Christie's
The present lot depicts the ancient Temple complex on the island of Philae with the unequivocal presence of Trajan’s Kiosk. Captured by the artist at sunset, the soft surface of the Nile reflects the Kiosk and Temple of Isis as the Dhow and its crew prepare for the night. Amelia Edwards (1831 - 1892), British novelist and Egyptologist, wrote: 'The approach by water is quite the most beautiful. Seen from the level of a small boat, the island, with its palms, its colonnades, its pylons, seems to rise out of the river like a mirage. Piled rocks frame it on either side, and the purple mountains close up the distance. As the boat glides nearer between glistening boulders, those sculptured towers rise higher and even higher against the sky. They show no sign of ruin or age. All looks solid, stately, perfect.'

In 1858 Auguste Veillon enrolled at the École des Beaux-Art in Paris where he spent considerable time studying the work of Claude Lorrain and the Dutch 17th century masters. He was particularly interested in the effect of light and it was a meeting with his neighbour, the famed Orientalist artist Eugène Fromentin, that marked a turning point in Veillon’s work and arouse his interest in orientalist subject matter. He travelled to Egypt in 1873 and was to return on three more occasions. His soft brush strokes and pastel colour palette were perfectly suited to capture the warmth of Egypt.

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Auguste Veillon was a Swiss painter. Auguste Veillon was born in Bex.
Auguste Veillon academic training was in theology. He obtained a degree in reformed theology in Lausanne. After that he joined François Diday's studio in Geneva, where he primarily painted seascapes and mountain ranges of the Bernese Oberland. In 1858, he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. There, he made the acquaintance of orientalist Eugène Fromentin. This marked a turning point in Veillon's work. He traveled to Rome, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Egypt. He lived for two years in Venice, before settling down in Geneva. There, he concentrated his work on Orientalist themes, painting mostly landscapes with the Nile or the Dead Sea as his location.

Source: Wikipedia