The Nargilah Smoker 

Rudolf Ernst painted The Nargilah Smoker in oil on panel, employing a style that is both precise and picturesque. He was born in Vienna, and here painted a man wearing a turban sitting with his bare feet on the floor, smoking a Nargilah, also known as a water pipe, or hookah. Ernst was known for Orientalist scenes such as this one, and he presents this man in a composition that is more ethnographic record than psychological portrait. The artist carefully details the tilework behind the figure, the patterned textiles of his garments and cushions, and of course the distinctive shape of the Nargilah itself. Notice how the bowl is finely wrought, catching light in its hammered surface. The image is meant to evoke another time and place. The overall effect speaks to an encounter with a culture far removed from that of the artist or his viewers. And perhaps the most important point is the way that the painting elevates craft and design to the level of fine art.