Jean Syndon-Faurie (French, 1869–1937) Portrait of a man wearing a turban, 1907 Oil on canvas 19-3/4 x 16-1/2 inches (50.2 x 41.9 cm) Signed and dated along upper edge: J.S. Faurie 1907 PROVENANCE: Artcurial, Paris, June 16, 2020, lot 308; Private collection, Los Angeles. This striking portrait of a man clad in a red turban and a garment reminiscent of a traditional North African djellaba—a vividly striped tunic—stands as a superb example of Jean Syndon-Faurie's work within the Orientalist tradition. A gifted academic portraitist and figure painter, he studied under Léon Bonnat and Jules Joseph Lefebvre at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Recognized early for his talent with a medal in drawing, he later traveled extensively through Italy, Egypt, Syria, and Israel. These journeys informed a rich body of work encompassing both Orientalist landscapes and figural compositions, often incorporating Symbolist qualities. Despite this early promise, his career was profoundly interrupted in 1902 by a widely publicized crime: in Étretat, he murdered Lucien David, a Parisian stockbroker and the husband of his lover ("Le Drame d'Étretat," Le Petit Parisien (Supplément Littéraire Illustré), October 12, 1902). Convicted and sentenced to ten years of hard labor, he continued to paint during his imprisonment, producing increasingly refined portraits, including the present work. This period of enforced focus ultimately contributed to his later success. Following his release, he sought to distance himself from his past by changing his name from Jean Sindou to Syndon-Faurie, adopting his grandmother's surname and combining it with a modified form of his own to create a more distinguished, aristocratic effect. Although the sitter in the present portrait has not been identified, he appears in other works by Syndon-Faurie from the years of his imprisonment. The figure's sharp, intense gaze and three-quarter pose may suggest a self-portrait. HID12401132022 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

Artcurial, Paris, June 16, 2020, lot 308; Private collection, Los Angeles.

Unlined canvas. Small area of repair to upper right of canvas. Framewear visible along upper right corner. Areas of fine craquelure scattered throughout.
Under UV: varnish fluoresces green. Scattered small dots and dashes of retouching, primarily in dark background field, with some inpaint around figure's eyes. Some red pigments fluoresce orange.
Framed Dimensions 26.5 X 23 Inches