Simoom in the Desert by David Roberts

Simoom in the Desert by David Roberts

c.1856

Hand-colored Lithograph

Plate 240, The Simoom in the Desert, is a nineteenth-century tinted lithograph published in 1856 as part of David Roberts's celebrated series The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia. The dramatic scene depicts a caravan of travelers and camels near the Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza as a simoom, a powerful hot wind carrying dust and sand, sweeps across the desert. The composition captures the imposing scale of Egypt's ancient monuments while conveying the harsh and unpredictable conditions of the surrounding landscape. 

The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia is regarded as one of the most important illustrated travel publications of the nineteenth century. Based on sketches Roberts completed during an eleven-month journey through Egypt and the Middle East between 1838 and 1839, the series introduced many Western audiences to the region's temples, landscapes, and historic monuments with an unprecedented level of accuracy and detail. Roberts was among the first Western artists granted access to several sacred mosques and restricted sites, allowing him to record subjects rarely seen by European viewers. His drawings, later transformed into masterful lithographs by Louis Haghe, helped fuel nineteenth-century European fascination with Egypt and the Near East and played a significant role in shaping the visual culture of Orientalist art. Today, the series remains one of the most influential pictorial records of the region produced during the age of exploration and travel.

Dimensions: H 8 x 11 1/4 W

Condition: Some foxing, small tear on bottom edge