Theodore Frere Click for Artist Information

Theodore Frere

French Orientalist painter Charles Theodore Frere was born in Paris in 1814. The son of a music producer, Frère studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under the management of Jules Coignet and Camille Roqueplan, and after completing his education, he traveled to Alsace, Auvergne and Normandy in France.

After returning to Paris, he exhibited the Vue des Environs de Strasbourg painting at the 1834 Paris Salon, and his exhibitions at the Salon in the following years consisted of orientalist paintings as a result of various trips to Africa and the Near East.

Frere visited Malta, Greece, Egypt and Turkey in about 1851, he was one of the few artists who produced works on Beirut, Damascus and Palmyra. Founding a studio in Cairo in 1853, Frere was awarded the title of "Beylik" by the governor of Egypt.