The Giaour Gm-00019201

Théodore Géricault (French, 1791–1824) His brow was bent, his eye was glazed;
He raised his arm, and fiercely raised,
And sternly shook his hand on high
As doubting to return or fly….

Taken from English Romantic poet Lord Byron's work of 1813, The Giaour: A Turkish Tale, these verses inspired the French Romantic painter Théodore Géricault to make this well-known watercolor. The dramatic story of an Arab Christian living as an infidel within his Muslim homeland tapped the vogue for Orientalism, which stemmed in part from Napoleon's recent campaigns in Egypt and Syria. Géricault's choice of subject matter was also affected by his passion for horses, which he often represented with great sensitivity.

On a visit to England in 1820, Géricault learned the British style of watercolor painting, which emphasized translucent washes that allowed the white of the paper to shine through. After faintly sketching the giaouron the verso of this sheet, he used the translucency of the watercolor to render the Arabian stallion's shining coat and the dramatically lit sky and ground in this finished drawing. The lithograph made after the drawing less effectively expresses the Romantic sense of drama.

We make each of our prints one at a time—just for you.

Our Giclée Prints are printed here in Switzerland, one at a time, on heavy matte German art paper using the finest 12-color Canon archival inks. Some images are panoramic or tall and narrow—please select the 18" x 36" format for these.

Our Premium Museum Frame in Black is custom-made in Lugano, Switzerland, using natural wood moulding in a matte black satin finish. Each includes thick, hand-cut white mat boards and Plexiglass glazing. We tailor and print each image to fit its specific ratio and dimensions within our custom-made frames. The hand-cut mats are extra thick. Each bespoke museum frame ships in a custom box. Rush shipping is available for projects with tight deadlines—this is our specialty, and you will not be disappointed.

Our Antiqued Museum Frame in Gold is a high-quality frame made of solid wood, featuring traditional 19th-century cast plaster moulded details and closed corners. These frames are works of art in themselves, each with a unique patina. The hand-rubbed corners and gold finish evoke the elegance of times past. Your selected image is printed on German art paper with archival inks and mounted to quality art board within the frame. Plexiglass is added for print protection and the back is covered with Kraft paper and a hanger is supplied ready to hang..

Our Stretched Canvas prints are hand-stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed with archival inks on a cotton-poly matte finish canvas. These are best-in-industry Swiss-quality canvases, hand-coated for UV protection.

Wall Murals are printed on a matte-finish, self-adhesive poly/fabric material that mounts easily and is ideal for smooth wall surfaces.

Our Note Cards are amazing—each is printed individually on 100% cotton art paper, comes with a kraft envelope, and is individually sleeved. (Image is scaled to fit the format.)

All of our images are digitized from the original negative or print and printed by our master printer to museum standards.

Questions? Please email service@archivea.com or call/text +41 79 265 8891.

Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.