Marius Bauer
(The Hague 1867 – Amsterdam 1932)
Tempelpoort (The Gate of The Temple) (1919)
Signed lower right
Watercolour and black chalk on paper, 65.4 x 53.3 cm
Provenance:
– Art dealer E.J. van Wisselingh & Co, Amsterdam (1920) (inv. no. 1764)
– Collection J.M.P. Glerum, Amsterdam (1920-1929)
– Auction Mensing, Amsterdam, 16 April 1929, lot 82
– Auction A. Mak, Amsterdam, 4 November 1930, lot 23
– Private collection, the Netherlands
Note:
Registered at the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History in The Hague under number 250322.

Marius Alexander Jacques Bauer was a Dutch painter, etcher and lithographer, best known for his Oriental scenes. His style was largely Impressionistic, although it also derived to some extent from the Hague School. Many of his works were based on photographs he bought during his travels. All of the recurring Egyptian monuments in Marius Bauer’s oeuvre are the result of his trip to Egypt in 1919. The present watercolour possibly depicts the door of the Pylon of the Temple of Edfu. At that time, this temple complex was buried to a depth of circa 12 metres. Bauer’s watercolour carefully renders the ruins, but transcends archaeological description to evoke the thrill of exploration and discovery.