Bashi-Bazouk, 1868–69

The print

Printed by theprintspace, the East London fine-art lab trusted by artists, galleries and museums. Each print is made to order on Hahnemühle Photo Rag, a heavyweight 308gsm paper made from 100% cotton, with a soft matte surface and a natural white tone, using archival pigment inks made to last for generations.

Photo Rag suits this painting especially well. Its matte cotton surface does justice to Gérôme’s famous textures, the sheen of silk and the weight of fringe, without the glare of a glossy print.

Sizes available:

40×50cm, 16×20″, fine art print, open edition
60×80cm, 24×31″, fine art print, open edition

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The story

In 1868 Gérôme spent twelve weeks travelling in the Near East. He was at the height of his career, and back in his Paris studio he dressed a model in the garments and accessories he had brought home.

The title is the name given to the poorly paid irregular soldiers who fought for plunder under Ottoman command; Gérôme’s Turkish title translates as “broken-head”. It is hard to imagine this man charging into battle in such a gorgeous silk tunic, and that is rather the point. Gérôme was selling a fantasy of the East, and nobody painted fabric, skin and light more convincingly.

The painting was given to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York by Mrs Charles Wrightsman in 2008.