The Temple of Dendour, Nubia (Dendorack, Upper Egypt)

David Roberts · 1840/50

Medium

Watercolor and gouache, over graphite, on gray wove paper

Original size

18.7 × 26.7 cm (7 3/8 × 10 9/16 in.)

Currently held

Art Institute of Chicago

Movement

Romanticism

Roberts' depiction of the Temple of Dendour captures a moment of stillness along the Nile — the ancient sandstone structure rising quietly against an open sky, its columns reflected in calm water below. David Roberts made his landmark journey through Egypt and the Holy Land in 1838–1839, filling sketchbook after sketchbook with meticulous on-site drawings. Working in watercolor and gouache over graphite on gray-toned paper, he achieved a delicate luminosity that lithographic reproduction could only partially convey — the original works carry a softness and atmospheric depth that rewards close attention. His choice of gray wove paper as a mid-tone ground gave his shadows and highlights a natural balance rarely seen in contemporary travel documentation. The lithographic prints derived from Roberts' Egyptian sketches, published in the series *Egypt and Nubia* between 1846 and 1849, sold widely across Europe and became foundational to the Western imagination of ancient Egypt — making scenes like this one among the most recognisable images of the nineteenth century. This hand-painted oil reproduction translates Roberts' intimate watercolor vision into a richer, more tactile medium — preserving the warm golden light and compositional serenity of the original while giving the scene the depth and physical presence that only oil paint on canvas can provide.