Goupil & Cie., Paris
Gambart, London
Sale: Christie's, London, 16 May 1896
Arthur Tooth & Sons (purchased at the above sale)
Sale: Christie's, London, 3 November 1977, lot 110
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

 

Academy Editions, ed., The Orientalists, London, 1979, no. 48 (as The Call to Prayer)
Gerald M. Ackerman, The Life and Work of Jean-Léon Gérôme with a Catalogue raisonné, London, 1986, pp. 218-19, no. 164, catalogued & illustrated
Gerald M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme. Monographie révisée. Catalogue raisonné mis à jour, Paris, 2000, pp. 260-61, no. 164, catalogued & illustrated

Structural Condition The panel is stable and providing a sound structural support. Paint Surface Under ultraviolet light some small spots of retouching can be seen. These appear: 1. in the rails of the balustrade in the upper right of the composition, 2. a spot in the third rail from the right in the lower balustrade, 3. a spot in the sky in the centre of the composition and another above the minarets, and 4. one small spot along the left vertical framing edge. These would appear to be covering small paint losses. The varnish appears very yellowed and discoloured and there may be older retouchings beneath the discoloured varnish layers, which do not fluoresce as clearly. The varnish is quite glossy and the retouchings appear matt in a raking light. Summary The painting therefore appears to be in good and stable condition and would benefit from cleaning, restoration and revarnishing.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Painted in 1865, this evocative painting captures the moment on a hot afternoon as a muezzin begins his call to prayer atop a minaret, and Cairo falls silent below him. With great mastery, Gérôme evokes the utter stillness both of the city and of the desert air, the heat made almost palpable to the viewer through the contrast between the shade cast by the minaret and the brilliant, hot light beyond. It is likely that the high dome in the background is the mosque of Sultan Hassan. In subject, the work relates to Gérôme's painting La Prière au Caire (Hamburg, Kunsthalle; fig. 1) shown at the Paris Salon the same year, of a group of men praying on a Cairo rooftop, and in 🌸Gerald Ack🦩erman's words 'one of Gérôme's most successful compositions'.

A muezzin is a chosen person at the mosque who leads the call (adhan) to Friday service and the five daily prayers (salat) from one of the mosque's minarets. Though chosen to serve for his good character, voice and skills, he is not considered a cleric, but rather comparable to a Christian sexton. When calling to prayer, the muezzin faces the Qiblah (direction of the Ka'bah in Mecca) while he cries out the adhan. The institution of muezzin has existed since the time of Muhammad. The first muezzin was Bilal ibn Ribah, who walked the streets to call t🅰he believers to come to prayer. After minarets became customary, the offic𓆉e of muezzin in cities was sometimes given to a blind person, who could not look down into the inner courtyards of the citizens' houses and thereby violate their privacy.

Gérôme visited Cairo many times, and the details of this painting demonstrate both his encyclopaedic knowledge of the Middle East recorded in sketches h💦e made on location, and his profound respect for some of its most distinctive cultural traditions. As in his numerous paintings of men at prayer inside mosques, so too in this outdoor view he could combine his admiration for Muslim piety and Islamic architecture. Throughout his Orientalist oeuvre, there is an inherent respect for the straightforward and unembarassed prayer among Muslims. A strongly anti-clerical Frenchman himself, Gérôme no doubt admired the clergy-free independence of prayer ℱthat he encountered on his journeys to Egypt. 

A larger version of the painting, almo♐st identical in composition, is in the Joselyn Art Museum,𒈔 Omaha, Nebraska.

FIG. 1, Jean-Léon Gérôme, La Prière, Kunsthalle, Hamburg