David Roberts Art

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...

Pencil, watercolour and bodycolour heightened with white. Image size: 9 1/2 x 13 1/4 inches (24 x 34 cm) Hand made gilt frame Provenance The Fine Art Society 1981 (Label Verso) Priv...

David Roberts R.A. 1796 - 1864 Interior of the Great Temple of Aboo Simbel Subscription edition and First edition lithographs available Full plate: 139 Acid free mount With David ...

David Roberts 1796 - 1864 Kom Ombo First Edition lithograph Full plate: 210 Presented in an acid free mount

David Roberts 1796 - 1864 Facade of the Pronaos of the Temple of Edfou First Edition lithograph Full plate: 208 Presented in a acid free mount We have all 250 of the Lithograph set...

After David Roberts R.A. 1796 - 1864 Approach of the Simoon - Desert of Geezah First Edition lithograph Full plate: 240 Presented in a acid free mount An original 19th Century l...

David Roberts R.A. 1796 - 1864 THEBES - COLOSSAL STATUES OF AMUNOPH III First Edition lithograph Full plate: 137 Presented in a acid free mount Published by F.G. Moon & Son, Londo...

David Roberts R.A. 1796 - 1864 EL KHASNE Subsription and First Edition lithographs Full plate: 92 Presented in a acid free mount First editi...

1796 - 1864 The Dome of the Rock, showing the Site of the Temple First edition lithograph Full plate: 8 Acid free mount One of a full collection from the series of the Holy Land and...

Pencil and watercolour heightened with white, signed lower right and inscribed lower left Image size: 14 3/4 x 11 1/2 inches (37.5 x 29.5 cm) Mounted with handmade gilt frame Prove...