Friedrich Otto GEORGI (1819-1874) "Desert of Giza with Sphinx, Pyramids and Bedouin". Oil on canvas, signed lower right and dated 1857. Height: 52 cm; length: 90 cm (Restorations and small missing parts). Period frame in wood and gilded stucco (accidents). Trained by his father, Friedrich Traugott Georgi (1783-1838), and at the Leipzig and Dresden Fine Arts Schools, in 1844 he took part in the Prussian expedition led by the Egyptologist Richard Lepsius, as a draughtsman. This mission, which lasted until 1846, took him to Egypt, Nubia and Palestine. His direct observations and sketches made in the field provided the basis for an abundant artistic output, mainly focusing on oriental motifs. He thus became one of the first German Orientalists, often nicknamed "Orient-George". The trip to Egypt left a deep imprint on his work, and the memories and sketches he drew from it would nourish his creative output for the rest of his life.