Hand Colored Engraving by Roberts, Gaza, Plate 59

David Roberts (1796 - 1864)

Gaza

Published in 1855

Hand-colored Lithograph

This lithograph, Gaza, was published between 1842 and 1849 as part of the six-volume work The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia, issued in London by F.G. Moon. Based on drawings and watercolors by Scottish artist David Roberts and lithographed by Louis Haghe. The image presents a richly detailed view of Gaza in the mid-nineteenth century. In the foreground, men in traditional dress gather among ancient ruins strewn with massive fallen columns and carved capitals, while a procession of horsemen departs through a walled city. Minarets rise above the skyline, and beyond them the composition opens to a distant Mediterranean horizon under a hazy atmospheric sky, combining architectural precision with a carefully constructed sense of depth and movement.

The work was produced from Roberts’s extensive travels through Egypt, the Holy Land, Petra, Sinai, Syria, and Nubia between 1838 and 1839, undertaken during a period of heightened European fascination with biblical archaeology and the ancient Near East. Originally trained as a theatrical scene painter, Roberts translated his understanding of dramatic staging into sweeping, highly composed landscapes that balanced visual spectacle with careful attention to topography, architecture, and local costume. The resulting series became one of the most influential visual records of the region in the Victorian period, shaping European perceptions of sites such as Gaza and Jerusalem long before systematic archaeological excavation. Widely acclaimed at the time as a landmark of print culture and praised for its technical sophistication, the publication is often regarded as one of the most ambitious lithographic projects of the nineteenth century and remains significant both as an artistic achievement and as a historical document of the eastern Mediterranean prior to modern transformation.

Dimensions: H 11 1/4" x 8" W

Condition: Some foxing on edge