Rudolf Ernst (Austrian, 1854-1932) A terrace reverie at sunset Oil on panel 25-3/8 x 32 inches (64.5 x 81.3 cm) Signed lower right: R. Ernst Property from a Private Florida Collection PROVENANCE: Christie's, London, June 17, 2004, no. 29, as Jeunes femmes sur la terrasse; Acquired from the above. EXHIBITED: World Design Expo, Nagoya (and elsewhere), "Orientalist Paintings and Photographs," July 1989-March 1991, no. 29. Rudolf Ernst also depicted a more aristocratic vision of Eastern life in his paintings. In the present work, elegant ladies dressed in fine attire, their robes and jewelry gleaming in the sunset, reside within lavish surroundings. The pink roses at left — flowers associated in Ottoman visual culture with refinement and divine beauty— further suggest the cultivated beauty of the figures. Roses appeared frequently in Ottoman court art, manuscript illumination, and palace decoration as emblems of both spiritual and worldly sophistication. Ernst also masters the challenges of depicting foreign architecture (coupled with his accomplished pictorial flair), skillfully showing the palace rising beyond the glistening waters. HID12401132022 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

World Design Expo, Nagoya (and elsewhere), "Orientalist Paintings and Photographs," July 1989-March 1991, no. 29.

Christies, London, June 17, 2004, no. 29; Acquired from the above.

Panel is stable. Minor framewear along top edge of painting. Faint pin dot white accretion under left figure.
Under UV: varnish fluoresces green. Small scattered scratches fluoresce under UV.
Framed Dimensions 39 X 45.5 Inches