Théodore Jacques Ralli or Theodorus Rallis (Theodoros Scaramanga Rallis in full) (Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, 16 February 1852 – Lausanne

Lausanne

Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...

, 2 October 1909) was a Greek painter, watercolourist and draughtsman, who spent most of his working life in Paris, France and in Egypt.

He painted genre works, portraits, local figures, architectural subjects, interiors with figures and animals. But he is best known for his orientalist

Orientalism

Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...

 paintings.

Biography

He was sent to Paris under the patronage of King Otto of Greece

Otto of Greece

Otto, Prince of Bavaria, then Othon, King of Greece was made the first modern King of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London, whereby Greece became a new independent kingdom under the protection of the Great Powers .The second son of the philhellene King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended...

  and studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme

Jean-Léon Gérôme

Jean-Léon Gérôme was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism. The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits and other subjects, bringing the Academic painting tradition to an artistic climax.-Life:Jean-Léon Gérôme was born...

, French painter and professor at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and under Jean-Jules-Antoine Lecomte du Nouy

Jean-Jules-Antoine Lecomte du Nouy

Jean-Jules-Antoine Lecomte du Nouÿ was an orientalist French painter and sculptor. He was Charles Gleyre's and Jean-Léon Gérôme's pupil...

, both known for their orientalist paintings.

Ralli then traveled widely in North Africa and the Middle East, settling for a while in Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, Egypt. Here he found his inspiration for the romantic mysticism and suggestive sensuality of his many orientalistic paintings. His other genre paintings were often nostalgic recollections of the life and customs of his Greek homeland, which he portrayed with a delicate and moving reverence. His paintings were elaborated with great attention to detail, with great attention to costumes and facial expressions. The varying light sources in his paintings such as rays of light, candles, or the glowing ambers in the fireplace are rendered in soft colours.

His first exhibition was at the Salon in 1875. From 1879 he regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy

Royal Academy

The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...

 in London.

He was a member of the Société des Artistes Français

Société des artistes français

The Société des Artistes Français is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the Salon....

, where he received an honourable mention in 1885, and a silver medal in 1889 for his whole work

He exhibited his paintings in Athens at the Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 of 1896.

He also served as a member of the competition jury in 1900 at the Exposition Universelle

Exposition Universelle (1900)

The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from April 15 to November 12, 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next...

.In 1901 he became a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur.

After his death he was slowly almost forgotten. It is telling that his name is not even included in the Grove Dictionary of Art

Grove Dictionary of Art

Grove Art Online, formerly The Dictionary of Art but usually known as The Grove Dictionary of Art, is a large encyclopedia of art, now part of the online reference publications of Oxford University Press, and previously a 34-volume printed encyclopedia when last published on paper in 1996...

. Most of his paintings are still in private collections. Only a few museums ever purchased his works. A few of his paintings were auctioned in the 20th century, but only obtained modest prices. However lately, his paintings have been rediscovered and are being auctioned at prices that are a tenfold of some years ago, fetching prices from 30,000 to 100,000 euros. On 14 November 2007 a study for the painting “Refectory in a Greek Monastery (Mount Athos)” was auctioned at 200,000 euros at Sotheby’s in London. But in January 2008, the actual painting “Refectory in a Greek Monastery (Mount Athos)” (1885) was auctioned at the absolute record price of 670,000 euros to a Greek collector at an auction in Ghent

Ghent

Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

, Belgium.

Museums

• Greek National Pinacotheque, Athens (2 paintingsà
• Louvre
  Louvre
  The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
  
  , Paris (one painting)
• Sydney (one painting)

Selected works

• Praying in a Greek church, Mount Parnassus 1876
• Boa Charmer in the Harem (1882) (oil on canvas)
• Snake Charmer in the Harem (1882) (oil on canvas)
• Wake of the Pasha of Tangier (1884) (oil on canvas)
• Refectory in a monastery (Mount Athos) (1885) (oil on canvas)
• Reclining Odalisk (1885) (oil on canvas)
• Sleeping Concubine (1885) (oil on canvas)
• La Demoiselle (1887) (oil on canvas)
• Evening Prayers (1890) (oil on canvas)
• Praying before the Communion, Megara (1890) (oil on canvas) (presented at the Salon of 1890)
• In the mosque, 1891
• Seamstress (1895) (oil on canvas)
• Drama in the Harem (1908) (oil on canvas) (presented at the Salon of 1908)
• Jerusalem
• Before Solomon’s Wall in Jerusalem
• Woman in Arab Interior
• Girls in Orthodox Church
• Benediction (oil on canvas)
• Peasant Woman resting (watercolour and pencil)
• Girl in Church, Candle in Hand (oil on canvas)
• Two camels in the Desert (watercolour heightened with gouache)
• Ah ! Jealous Woman among Jealous Women (oil on canvas)
• The Sultan’s Favourite
• The Offering
• The Bath (oil on canvas)
• Young Beauty (oil on canvas)
• A Greek Beauty (watercolour on paper)
• Portrait of a Greek Girl (Helen of Megara) (oil on panel)
• Two Wise Old Men in Turbans (watercolour)
• Portrait of a Man in Green (oil on canvas on card)
• Sleeping in Church (oil on canvas)
• Entrance to Mary’s Tomb in Jerusalem (watercolour)
• Religious Instruction in an Algerian Mosque (oil on canvas)
• Girl Spinning Wool (oil on panel)
• Portrait of the Artist