Old Cairo Museum

In this painting, we can see a scene from the old Egyptian museum. The scene focuses on a series of varied Egyptian sculptures, some seated, some kneeling, some standing, all situated on raised plinths in front of a wall with ancient stone cladding. In the forefront of the image, cast somewhat in darkness, a Sphinx statue lurks as if guarding the entrance to this room of antiques. 

Not only does this painting depict an intriguing scene, but it does so in an artistically masterful and unique manner. There is a clear attention to detail regarding the varied positions and pigmentation and materials of the statues, and yet they remain devoid of particularly discernable facial details - even the Sphinx in the foreground is only afforded minimal attention to detail regarding its facial features. This gives the impression of a scene cast in low light, where the facial features are not discernible to the human eye - a scene set in a museum basement, perhaps, as the work’s title would indicate. Krier’s ability to use lighting and how it falls on the statues to indicate a scene that is tucked away from the light is truly masterful, as is how this use of light plays with the colours of the statues. The painting is decidedly monochromatic, cast in a palette of sandy and neutral browns, and Krier’s low levels of lighting is what varies this colour palette with darker and lighter shades of the same sepia colours. The viewpoint of the work is also striking and unusual - it is framed within a doorway, but at an odd angle that cuts off the Sphinx statue and the standing couple in the background. It is as if Krier is teasing the viewer, promising even more treasures just out of sight in this painting. This angle creates a very spontaneous air to the painting, as it does not try and establish a perfect composition, just an honest one of what Krier could see in this exact moment in this exact place.

Etienne Krier

Etienne Auguste Krier was born in Marne in 1875 and became a student of Leon Bonnat at the Parisian Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Francais from 1904, winning an honourable mention in 1920, the silver medal in 1924, and the gold in 1934. He also won the Bonnat Student Association Prize in 1930, the Rosa Bonheur Prize in 1932 and a bronze medal at the World Fair in 1937.

Krier was a Corporal in the First World War and fought at Verdun with the 48th Territorial Infantry Regiment. After the War, he settled down with his wife who he had married just before the conflict broke out – Marcelle Lambrette, who was a flower painter. During his service, Krier created a number of watercolours of scenes from the conflict, which he sent to his wife. After the war, he became a professor of drawing in Paris, and died in Rambouillet in 1953.

Krier’s career was not defined by a particular genre or medium. He painted a number of interiors with female sitters, as well as the aforementioned watercolours from scenes of conflict. This painting, which depicts a scene in the Louvre, falls into the group of Krier’s works that are concerned with simple scenes from around Paris. The pervasive feature of Krier’s paintings is his striking use of bold colours, which lend a modernist air to his works.