Funeral de uma Múmia no Rio Nilo, Egito (Funeral of a Mummy on the Nile) - Frederick Arthur Bridgman

Funeral de uma Múmia no Rio Nilo, Egito (Funeral of a Mummy on the Nile) - Frederick Arthur Bridgman
Egito
Coleção privada
OST - 75x148 - 1877


As noted by Ilene Susan Fort, Ph.D., F. A. Bridgman authority, and Curator Emerita of American Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the painting is a variant of Les Funérailles d'une momie from 1877, which brought Bridgman great acclaim at the Paris Salon and was immediately purchased by the newspaper tycoon, James Gordon Bennet. That prime version with this subject matter is now in the collection of the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. The painting depicts an historical reconstruction of an ancient burial practice of the Egyptians whereby the mummified corpse of royalty was transported to its burial site, usually at the Valley of the Kings, along the Nile, across from the temple complex of Luxor. Bridgman had executed two known variants of the much larger composition, presumably due to high demand from collectors at the height of the public's fascination with Egypt. The present painting is the smallest of the three examples.
All three versions demonstrate Bridgman's study of the material culture and customs of the ancient land as the artist had recently returned from a stay in Egypt. All three paintings depict three boats moving from one shore of the Nile River to the other, with the lead boat carrying the royal coffin, canopied, a group of official mourners at the prow of the boat, and the priest and musicians standing behind the coffin. Two other boats of mourners and officials follow, one with a sail. A low-ranging view of the river shoreline and the sky form the backdrop of all three versions. All are cast in delicate hues with a crepuscular sky dominating the scene. However, the landscape is the most significant difference between the three versions. In the Salon version the highest two hills are on the left side of the landscape, while the highest hills in both variants appear on the right side of the landscape.