Egypt and Nubia, Volume II: Fragments of the Great Colossi at the Memnonium, Thebes

By the mid-19th century, the complexities of printing in numerous colors had been mastered, culminating in one of the high points of European printmaking. The plates drawn by Haghe, which copy the watercolors that David Roberts made in Egypt, are exquisite examples of color lithography. Egypt was a distant, mysterious country for Europeans and Haghe, a Scottish topographical and architectural artist who spent the year of 1838 traveling across this ancient land. The resulting prints—the first comprehensive series of views of the monuments, landscapes, and people of the Near East—were especially appreciated for their brilliant color and large scale. Collector John Bonebrake’s 134 prints of Egypt are an important addition to the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection, and in a sense they have returned home: a large group of them was loaned to the 1992 exhibition Nineteenth-Century Views of Egypt.

A horizontally oriented color lithograph depicts a landscape of sand-colored Egyptian ruins under a hazy, pink-streaked sky. On the left, four towering columns with carved figures stand near a massive, broken colossus head resting in the sand. To the lower right, a cluster of figures in dark robes and head coverings gather. In the distance, a crumbling pylon and low hills line the horizon, bathed in a soft, golden glow.

Egypt and Nubia, Volume II: Fragments of the Great Colossi at the Memnonium, Thebes

1847

Louis Haghe, F. G. Moon, 20 Threadneedle Street, London, David Roberts

(British, 1806–1885), (Scottish, 1796–1864)

England, 19th century

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