Interior of the Temple of Aboo Simbel

David Roberts

1846

Tinted and hand-colored lithograph

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A view looking down a hall lined with colossal statues of pharaohs within an ancient Egyptian temple. Several small figures stand in the distance, exploring the interior. In 1838, Scottish painter David Roberts toured the Near East, making him one of the first British artists to gain first-hand knowledge of the region. He went from Egypt to the Sinai and Petra, arriving in Jerusalem at Easter 1839. Remaining there for a few weeks, he then continued north to Lebanon and departed from Beirut in May. From the outset of his journey, Roberts planned to publish a great set of Near-Eastern views, which eventually appeared as The Holy Land, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia. He worked with lithographer Louis Haghe (1806-1885) to develop a six-volume magnum opus, containing 247 hand-colored lithographs based on