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This lithograph presents the city of Cairo in the 1830's as a vast, sun-washed expanse poised between dense urban life and the open desert beyond. The composition is panoramic showing low, flat-roofed buildings stretching across the foreground and middle distance, forming a tightly packed pattern of pale stone and earth tones. Rising above this horizontal mass are slender minarets and domes, punctuating the skyline with vertical accents. These architectural forms give the city its distinctive silhouette and emphasize Cairo’s identity as a center of Islamic culture. Looking westward, the eye moves beyond the clustered rooftops toward the brighter, more open horizon and the great pyramids of Giza are seen in the background. The light intensifies in that direction, often dissolving detail into haze. The desert edge and distant landscape appear luminous and expansive, contrasting with the textured density of the city. Roberts’ handling of light is beautiful and distinctive with warm sunlight striking walls and towers, casting elongated shadows that carve depth into the urban fabric. The sky is typically broad and clear, reinforcing the sense of heat and clarity characteristic of his Egyptian scenes.
Egyptians are seen beyond the city walls and on rooftops in the city, which provides scale and a sense of daily life. Roberts presents Cairo not as a single monument, but as an immense, historic city, intricate, radiant, and situated between civilization and the vast desert horizon.
This duotone lithograph is printed on a sheet with wide margins. Overall the sheet measures 16.75" high and 23.88" wide. The print is signed in plate in the lower left and titled in the lower right. There is a faint horizontal crease in the upper margin, which would not be visible behind a mat at framing. The image portions of the print are in excellent condition.
The drawings and watercolors from Roberts' tour of the Holy Land and Egypt were collated together into folios and released over a seven year period by the publisher F.G. Moon from 20 Threadneedle Street London. This lithograph is from the Royal Subscription Edition (1842-1849) with only 500 copies produced per depiction. Louis Haghe (the Belgian engraver and friend of Roberts) worked on all of the lithographs for this series.
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 Roberts 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. Roberts' and Haghe’s duotone lithographs, often colored, remain extremely sought-after today and have been rising steadily in value.
