signed 'TH. FRÈRE BEY.' (lower right), and inscribed 'AU CAÏRE' (lower left)watercolour Unframed: 9 x 15 cm. (3 1/2 x 5 7/8 in.) Framed: 19 x 25 cm. (7 1/2 x 9 7/8 in.)Provenance:Private Collection, Chartres.Notes:Charles-Théodore Frère had a fascination with the Orient, which began during a stay in Algeria between 1836 and 1839. He was a renowned painter of nineteenth-century Egypt, who employed a refreshing focus on the life of Cairo itself as opposed to the country's celebrated monuments, which was a focus of many of his contemporaries. The present sheet belongs to a recurring group of intimate Cairo street scenes that occupied Frère throughout his Egyptian career. The watercolour is a carefully orchestrated study of light and atmosphere, evoking the intimacy of urban life in which he carefully manipulates the contrast between light and shade.