A large Orientalist painting of a desert scene by C. J. Theriat

Somtimes known by the title 'Travellers in the Desert, Biskra,' this wonderful oil painting was made by Charles James Theriat, (1860-1934). An American painter, he was trained at the Academie Julian in Paris and flourished in the subsequent decade-and-a-half, known most prominently for paintings such as this he made during and after his time in Algeria, where he first wintered in 1888.

Although he also produced portraits, city-scapes, and interior views, he took most eagerly to minimalist landscape scenes, where the desert itself was the main subject, complemented only by the occasional and sparing depiction of human life. This particular painting shows a desert scene in Biskra, Algeria, with a man riding a mule with another figure, younger in appearance, running alongside him.

It is executed in oil on canvas in a giltwood frame, signed, inscribed and dated lower left 'C. J. Theriat Biskra. (18)95.' Canvas height 80cm, width 126cm.