The Snake Charmer, c.1870 Jean Leon Gerome (1824-1904)

We create our paintings with museum quality and covering the highest academic standards. Once we get your order, it will be entirely hand-painted with oil on canvas. All the materials we use are the highest level, being totally artist graded painting materials and linen canvas.

We will add 1.6" (4 cm) additional blank canvas all over the painting for stretching.

High quality and detailing in every inch are time consuming. The reproduction of Jean Leon Gerome also needs time to dry in order to be completely ready for shipping, as this is crucial to not be damaged during transportation.
Based on the size, level of detail and complexity we need 8-9 weeks to complete the process.

In case the delivery date needs to be extended in time, or we are overloaded with requests, there will be an email sent to you sharing the new timelines of production and delivery.

TOPofART wants to remind you to keep patient, in order to get you the highest quality, being our mission to fulfill your expectations.

We not stretch and frame our oil paintings due to several reasons:
Painting reproduction is a high quality expensive product, which we cannot risk to damage by sending it being stretched.
Also, there are postal restrictions, regarding the size of the shipment.
Additionally, due to the dimensions of the stretched canvas, the shipment price may exceed the price of the product itself.

You can stretch and frame your painting in your local frame-shop.

Once the painting The Snake Charmer is ready and dry, it will be shipped to your delivery address. The canvas will be rolled-up in a secure postal tube.

We offer free shipping as well as paid express transportation services.

After adding your artwork to the shopping cart, you will be able to check the delivery price using the Estimate Shipping and Tax tool.

The paintings we create are only of museum quality. Our academy graduated artists will never allow a compromise in the quality and detail of the ordered painting. TOPofART do not work, and will never allow ourselves to work with low quality studios from the Far East. We are based in Europe, and quality is our highest priority.

Jean-Léon Gérôme’s "The Snake Charmer," c. 1870, is a masterclass in the seductive opulence of Orientalist fantasy, meticulously painted yet profoundly disquieting in its display of “otherness” for European consumption. The first thing that hits you - visually, at least - is the incredible, almost suffocating detail of the backdrop. The intricate tiles, painstakingly rendered in a hypnotic sea of cerulean and cobalt blues, are mesmerizing, yet they create an unsettling contrast to the central figure: a boy, fully nude, holding a live snake as though it were the most natural thing in the world. His skin glows, almost marble-like, polished and smooth against the cold, dense wall of pattern behind him. It’s a stark confrontation - his vulnerability feels heightened against this sea of rigid geometry and symmetry.

To the left, a group of men sit in a semi-circle, seemingly transfixed by the performance. Their robes, each varying in rich earthen tones and greens, are painted with a casual yet precise hand, further emphasizing Gérôme’s virtuosity with texture. You can almost feel the weight of their garments, the dusty folds, and the oppressive heat of the moment. Their expressions, though muted, seem to oscillate between indifference and intrigue. The overall color palette - warm ochres and cool blues - creates a delicate balance between the scene’s exotic allure and the underlying detachment.

Gérôme’s technique is ruthlessly academic - every brushstroke calculated, every texture rendered with photographic precision. Yet, the composition has a voyeuristic quality, as if we, the viewers, are peeking into an orchestrated fantasy. The snake, coiling through the boy’s hand, becomes a symbol of temptation, the exotic danger that the West longed for but never truly understood. The painting’s flawless execution cannot mask the exoticism it both critiques and indulges. The result is dazzling but uncomfortable - you’re left admiring Gérôme’s technical genius while questioning the gaze he invites you to share.