Prayer in the desert

Otto Pilny, a Swiss-born artist, started his artistic education in Prague. Later he lived in Vienna for a time, until finally settling in Zurich. He was a great admirer of Orientalist subjects and in 1889 he travelled to Egypt for the first time. He was enthralled by its landscape, its people and their customs. He was a prolific painter fuelled by his passion for the Orient. He left behind a wide oeuvre in which the warm tones and vibrant atmosphere of desert existence are dominantly present.