Artwork Page for Egypt and Nubia, Volume I: The Great Sphinx, Pyramids of Gezeeh

Details / Information for Egypt and Nubia, Volume I: The Great Sphinx, Pyramids of Gezeeh

Egypt and Nubia, Volume I: The Great Sphinx, Pyramids of Gezeeh

1846

Louis Haghe

(British, 1806–1885)
published by

F. G. Moon, 20 Threadneedle Street, London

after David Roberts

(Scottish, 1796–1864)
Culture
England, 19th century
Medium
color lithograph
Support
Wove paper
Measurements
Sheet: 42.9 x 60.2 cm (16 7/8 x 23 11/16 in.); Image: 33.8 x 53.2 cm (13 5/16 x 20 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of John Bonebrake 2012.181
Catalogue raisonné
Abbey 272:18
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The invention of photography was announced in 1839, but photographers did not arrive in Egypt until around 1850. Prior to that, general knowledge about the ancient sites came from writings and reproductions of the paintings and drawings of adventurous artists. Roberts, the first British artist to produce a series of Egyptian views, traveled through the Middle East in 1838–40. Back in England, he worked with Haghe to translate his drawings into color lithographs, which were published between 1842 and 1849 as an opulent series of portfolios. A stimulating mixture of documentation and romanticism that still moves today’s viewers, Roberts’s images appeared just before the availability of photographic depictions of the region and inspired the photographers who followed in his footsteps.
A horizontally oriented color lithograph depicts the Great Sphinx partially buried in a muted, beige desert. Centered and facing right, the weathered stone figure sits among undulating dunes. In the background, two large pyramids and one smaller one rise against a pale sky. To the right, small human figures and animals rest in a shadowed depression. Fine lines define the textured stone and vast, sandy landscape.

Egypt and Nubia, Volume I: The Great Sphinx, Pyramids of Gezeeh

1846

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

(British, 1806–1885), (Scottish, 1796–1864)
England, 19th century

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