Théodore Ralli

Théodore Jacques Ralli or Theodorus Rallis (full name: Theodoros Rallis-Scaramanga; Greek: Θεόδωρος Ράλλης; Constantinople, 16 February 1852 – 2 October 1909, Lausanne) was a Greek painter, watercolourist and draughtsman, who spent most of his working life in France, Greece and Egypt. Ralli was an Academic, Orientalist and Impressionist painter. He painted genre works, portraits, local figures, architectural subjects, interiors with figures and animals. Ralli is known for his orientalist paintings and paintings of Greek everyday life. Ralli was from a wealthy Greek family known as the Ralli family. They were one of the wealthiest and most successful Greek merchant families of the 19th century, and the Ralli company was operated primarily by the extended family. They had operations spanning the entire world. Maria Katsanaki’s 2007 dissertation features a catalog of over 400 paintings attributed to Ralli. Most of his works are in private collections. Rallis was a student of Jean-Léon Gérôme and Jean-Jules-Antoine Lecomte du Nouy, both painters were orientalist, and Gérôme also painted in the style known as academicism. Ralli was considered one of Gérôme's best students. His work The Booty drew inspiration from Gérôme's The Slave Market.

Ralli was born in Constantinople, which is now known as Istanbul, to a Greek family originally from Chios on his father Iakovos' side; his mother Katina was from the Greek island Syros. From a young age, he was interested in painting, but due to his family's opposition to a professional painting career, he went to work for the Ralli family business in London until his father's death in 1871. He travelled to Paris as early as 1873 and learned painting, showing an interest in academicism and oriental art, although some of his works reveal Impressionism. In 1875, his works were accepted and exhibited by the prestigious Paris Salon. The young painter also became a member of the Société des Artistes Français and maintained a studio in Paris for the remainder of his life. After 1879, Rallis travelled to London and exhibited his works at the Royal Academy in London and continued an affiliation with the institution throughout his life.

In August 1885, the painter travelled to the Monastic Community of Mount Athos to draw inspiration from Byzantine art, staying for fifteen days. He visited fewer than eleven monasteries, some included: Vatopedi, Esphigmenou, Zographou, and Dohiariou. Ralli kept a studio in Cairo, Egypt, where he spent his winters from 1891 to 1904, giving private drawing lessons to the aristocracy. He also maintained a close friendship with the Greek-Alexandrian poet Constantine P. Cavafy. In 1900, Rallis was awarded the decoration of the Knight of the Legion of Honour by France. Rallis died in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1909 but was buried in Athens, Greece, at the First Cemetery of Athens. The most valuable painting of Rallis' called The Captive (Turkish Plunder) sold at a record price of £737,300 or $1,517,767 in 2007.