Interior Design – Arab Art

Artist: René Binet, French, 1866–1911
Date: 1905
Material: Watercolor
made in: France, Europe
Classification: Drawings & watercolors
Collection: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
Current Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 18 3/4 x 12 1/2 in. (47.6 x 31.8 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Peggy Ives Cole
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 44:2000

NOTES

This luminous watercolor illustrates various examples of Islamic architecture and ornament. The structures are meticulously detailed, from the domed pulpit near the center to the delicate filigree on the staircase and the pointed arches above. Colorful tiles embellish the back wall. For all its detail, however, this drawing does not represent a realistic depiction of a mosque. Rather, it is a western European view of identifiably Islamic architectural elements by a French architect, René Binet. Binet traveled to North Africa and Muslim Spain, studying architecture there. He was a great ornamentalist, exemplified by his attention to the intricate details in the image.

Binet was a renowned architect with an international reputation in the early 20th century, but this drawing has a local connection. It is part of a group of plans Binet designed in the early 1900s for a Hall of Architecture here at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Ultimately, the project was never completed.

Provenance

by 1911 - 2000
Halsey C. Ives (1847–1911), St. Louis, MO, USA, possibly commissioned from the artist; Caroline Eliot Lacklind Ives (1889–1973), by inheritance; Peggy Ives Cole (c.1920–c.2000), Springfield, MO, USA; Topeka, KS, USA, by inheritance [1]

2000 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Peggy Ives Cole [2]

Notes:
This drawing is part of a group of 7 designs for a never-realized Hall of Architecture at the Saint Louis Art Museum (39-45:2000). Each drawing in the group shares the same provenance.

[1] According to a collection appraisal conducted at the request of Peggy Ives Cole in September 1981, Halsey C. Ives commissioned these designs from the artist [SLAM document files].

[2] 44:2000 and the related watercolor designs by Binet were on long-term loan to the Saint Louis Art Museum from February 1982 until the date of acquisition [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 9, 2000.

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We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.

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