The Hypostyle Hall of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel, Egypt
Date:
1849
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on panel
Dimensions:
14 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches (36.8 x 54.6 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1981.25.534
Gallery Label:
A successful landscape painter, David Roberts embarked on a yearlong tour of Egypt and the Holy Land in 1838. As the first British artist to tour the Near East, he planned to turn the journey into a lucrative commercial opportunity. On his return, he worked his sketches up into finished paintings to show in public exhibitions and made watercolor views for serial lithographic reproduction in what became Holy Land (1842–49), one of the most important colorplate books of the nineteenth century. In November 1838, Roberts reached the temples built by Ramesses II at Abu Simbel in southern Egypt and made extensive sketches. This view of the temple’s entrance was not painted until over a decade after he returned home. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016
