[Annotated on reverese] "Water carrier", with signature of artist on painting - J. F. Rainimaharosoa [James Rainimaharosoa, 1860-1926], Tananarive, 1908

James Rainimaharosoa (1860-1926) is one of the earliest known Malagasy painters. He seems to have learned the art of drawing and painting in 1870 with the British missionary William Johnson. He undertook portraits for Joseph Simon Gallieni (1849-1916), a French military commander and administrator in the French colonies, including Madagascar. In 1900, he exhibited at the Exposition Universelle [Universal Exhibition] in Paris, and six years later at the Exposition Coloniale [Colonial Exhibition] in Marseilles. [Source: allAfrica.com: Madagascar: 'The Malagasy great painters - from James Rainimaharosoa to Raparivo', downloaded 22 July 2015]

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