| Method | Lithograph with tint stone |
| Artist | after David Roberts |
| Published | London, Published Feby. 1st 1856, by Day & Son, Gate Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields |
| Dimensions | Image 122 x 174 mm, Sheet 202 x 285 mm |
| Notes |
Plate 107 from Volume 3 of the small format reprint of Roberts' The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia. A view of the Helim Fortress in the city of Aqaba, on the Sinai coast of modern-day Jordan. The fortress was constructed by the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the 12th century AD, but was extensively rebuilt in the 14th century AD by the Mamluks, after it had been left in ruins by the conquest of Saladin. The fortress is depicted in the shadow of a range of mountains, amongst a grove of date-palms. A trio of Arab tribesmen rest under one of these palms in the foreground, while another group observe an earthwork before the fortress' walls. David Roberts RA (24th October 1796 – 25th November 1864) was a Scottish painter. He is especially known for a prolific series of detailed prints of Egypt and the Near East produced during the 1840s from sketches made during long tours of the region (1838-1840). This work, and his large oil paintings of similar subjects, made him a prominent Orientalist painter. He was elected as a Royal Academician in 1841. The firm of Day & Haghe was one of the most prominent lithographic companies of the nineteenth-century. They were also amongst the foremost pioneers in the evolution of chromolithography. The firm was established in 1823 by William Day, but did not trade under the moniker of Day & Haghe until the arrival of Louis Haghe in 1831. In 1838, Day & Haghe were appointed as Lithographers to the Queen. However, and perhaps owing to the fact that there was never a formal partnership between the two, Haghe left the firm in the 1850's to devote himself to watercolour painting. The firm continued as Day & Son under the guidance of William Day the younger (1823 - 1906) but, as a result of a scandal involving Lajos Kossuth, was forced into liquidation in 1867. Vincent Brookes bought the company in the same year, and would produce the caricatures for Gibson Bowles' Vanity Fair magazine, as well as the illustrations for Cassells's Poultry Book, amongst other commissions. Condition: Light foxing to margins, not affecting image. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £30.00 |
| Stock ID | 39007 |