"View Towards the Pyramids": David Roberts ' 19th Century Hand Colored Lithograph, 1846

Description

"View Towards the Pyramids" is a 19th century full folio sized hand-colored lithograph by David Roberts from his monumental publication … more "View Towards the Pyramids" is a 19th century full folio sized hand-colored lithograph by David Roberts from his monumental publication "The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia", published in London in 1846. It depicts a scene of a boat on the Nile, along with several smaller boats. Saccara (Saqqara), near Memphis, the original capital of Egypt, can be seen in the background with its ancient Step Pyramid of Pharoah Djoser. This was the first Egyptian pyramid, designed by the physician and architect Imhotep. Pharoah Snofru’s (Sneferu) failed design Bent Pyramid and the subsequent replacement Red Pyramid can be seen in Dashour (Dashur). These structures preceded the more famous pyramids in Giza.

This lithograph is professionally framed in a gold-colored wood frame, double cream-colored mats and it is glazed with museum quality archival material. The print is in excellent condition.

Artist: David Roberts (1796-1864) was born outside of Edinburgh, Scotland. At age 10 he became a house painter’s apprentice. He continued painting houses and eventually theater scenes in Edinburgh and then in London. His friend, J. M. W. Turner, recognized his artistic talent and encouraged him to become a full-time artist. In 1839 he traveled to Egypt and then in 1840, through the Holy Land, concluding in Jerusalem. Upon his return to England, F. G. Moon agreed to publish lithographs created by Louis Haghe from Robert’s sketches and watercolors. This publication was highly acclaimed and very popular for its esthetic quality, its historical and topographical accuracy, and Robert’s dramatic depiction of his scenes. Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens were among the subscribers who collected his works. Robert’s and Haghe’s duotone lithographs, often colored, remain extremely sought-after today and have been rising steadily in value. less