Gyula TORNAI (1861-1928) - Lot 446

Gyula TORNAI (1861-1928) Harem beauty and slave boy OIL ON CANVAS Signed lower left 67 x 146 cm (lower part of canvas to be reattached to stretcher, small tears and wear) Gilded frame with cartouche History l A Hungarian artist, he studied at the Vienna, Munich and Budapest painting academies. He traveled to Spain, Algeria and Morocco, developing an interest in orientalism. He spent 10 years in Morocco, staying in Tangier for two years between 1890 and 1891. He exhibited paintings with oriental subjects at the 1900 Universal Exhibition, and was awarded a bronze medal. Two major retrospective exhibitions were organized, one at the Goupil Gallery in London in 1907, the other at the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris the following year. Provenance l Collection of Mr. Samir Raouf (1933-2021), Egyptian diplomat and architect who furnished his property, Villa Ra, in Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey. Biography l In 1956, Mr. Samir Raouf obtained a Bachelor's degree in architecture from Ein Shams University in Cairo. He became head of the engineering department at the Ministry of Tourism in Cairo in 1964. He continued his studies, graduating from the National Planning Institute in Cairo in 1967, and became head of the Planning Department at the Ministry of Tourism in Cairo in 1968. In 1969, he graduated in International Affairs from the University of London, and was accredited diplomat to the Court of St. James and architectural advisor to the Egyptian Embassy for 10 years, from 1970 to 1980. At the same time, he was Director of the United Arab Republic Information and Tourism Centre in Piccadilly from 1970 to 1974. He was also Director of the Tourist Office for the Tutankhamen Treasures exhibition at the British Museum in 1972. In 1974, he was awarded a Fellow's Diploma from the UK's Faculty of Building, followed in 1975 by a Diploma in Interior Design and Decoration from the UK's Rhodec International School of Design, which he took up with the London interior design firm Design Coordinators in 1981. In 1989, the design of his swimming pool at his family home in Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey won a Gold Medal in the United States.