David Roberts

Castle San Angelo, Rome, David Roberts, 19th Century Original Watercolour

Watercolour on paper, signed bottom left Image size: 13 3/4 x 9 1/2 inches (35 x 24 cm) Mounted and framed The Generalife was a summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid rulers...

BRITISH SCHOOL 19th Century STIRLING CASTLE Watercolour, signed lower right Image size: 12 x 10 inches (30 x 25.5 cm)

Watercolour with touches of bodycolour on buff paper, signed lower middle and inscribed and dated '1839' lower left Image size: 8 1/2 x 12 1/4 inches (22 x 31 cm) Acid free mount and period style gilt frame This original watercolour by Roberts depicts the temple at Baalbek with the ruined palace behind, seen from the opposite bank of a brook, where a group of figures are seated and kneeling around a table, with an arched bridge nearby. David Roberts was the first professional British artist to travel independently to the Middle East in 1838. He was the first British artist to draw the ruins of Ancient Egypt and Roberts produced a series of finished watercolours, including the painting, which he had worked up from sketches made during his tour. Like many British artists he used the familiar visual language of European landscapes to capture the unfamiliar scenery. By using architectural motifs to provide structure to compositions like this he is able to present a dramatic scene of classical grandeur, illuminated by sunlight complemented by a large area of shade in the foreground. The dramatic scene is enhanced by the three groups of figures, which convey the sense of scale. The figures also give the picture richer, darker and redder tones that contrast with the sandy colours of the architecture. This painting uses a lot of the essential ingredients that make up a picturesque scene: distant mountains, classical ruins and figures for human interest and to convey motion. Robert's Trip to Baalbek David Roberts visited Baalbek near the end of his travels around Egypt and the Middle East. Roberts and his party rode to the site of Baalbek on 2nd May in a heavy-rain storm. He was miserable, totally drenched and feverish. But the sight of the ancient Roman settlement rallied him. Despite his physical debilitation, 'I was... so much struck with the magnificence of the temple, that I could not resist visiting and examining it'. The storm then continued through the night, pummelling the traveller's tents. In the morning, Roberts felt extremely ill and sought the help of a Greek priest, who found him dry shelter in a cowshed. For the first time on his gruelling journey, Roberts devoted the whole day to bed rest. On May 4th, regaining some strength, Roberts explored the site. With obscure origins connected with the god Baal, the city of Baalbek had grown to importance in Hellenistic times, when it was known as Heliopolis ('The City of the Sun'). In the first century B.C. the Romans had established a cult of the Heliopolitan Jupiter there, and both Josephus Flavius...

Watercolour and scratching out on paper, signed lower left Image size: 11 x 17 1/2 inches (28 x 44.5 cm) Original giltwood frame Provenance Christopher Wood Gallery R Mellon, USA ...

ERNEST ARTHUR ROWE 1863 - 1922 St Peter's Rome Watercolour Signed lower left Image size: 9 ¾ x 7 inches Original gilt frame

Graphite on paper, numerous pencil inscriptions Image size: 5 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches (14 x 55 cm) Period style hand made gilt frame Provenance The collection of Ernest Pearce (1930-20...

John Faulkner (Irish, c. 1830-1888, active United States c. 1870-80) Farm Scene with Figures, c. 1870 Watercolor on paper, 20 x 28 inches (sight) FRAMED: 31 1/4 x 39 1/4 inches Sign...

An enchanting scene of maidens conversing under the shade of an oak tree with lovely detailing and good strong colour. John Edmund Buckley ( 1824-1876) Maidens under an oak tree Sig...

A really charming study of a blacksmith puffing on a clay pipe at the forge door. Thomas Charles Leeson Rowbotham Junr (1823-1875) Village Blacksmith Patterdale, Aug 1848 Signed, in...

Frederick George Cotman (1850-1920) Fishing baskets on the shore Watercolour with trace of pencil 6 x 8 inches Provenance: Cotman family collection Frederick George Cotman was born in Ipswich on 14 August 1850. His uncle, John Sell Cotman, was one of the cornerstones of the Norwich school and a very influential watercolourist. Frederick's first tuition came from William Griffiths...

An enchanting 19th century watercolor with figures before a castle in a river landscape. Circle of Samuel Prout (1783-1852) Figures before a castle in a river landscape Watercolour ...

A dramatic 19th Century watercolor painted by a competent hand in the style of David Cox the Elder. A spirited scene with weather-beaten figures on the waterfront looking out to sail...