David Roberts – The Tomb of Joseph at Shechem, 1844
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Details
Lettered with the title, the artist’s and lithographer’s names, and the publication line: “London, Published by F.G. Moon, Sept 2nd 1844.” Noted in standard catalogues raisonnés as Plate 39 of the “The Holy Land” series.
Sizes:
Frame: 66 × 73 cm | 26 × 28.7 in
Artwork: 26 × 35 cm | 10.2 × 13.8 in
This exquisite hand-colored lithograph is Plate 39 from David Roberts’ monumental series, The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia (published 1842–1849). The scene depicts a tranquil landscape at Shechem, where travelers rest before the domed structures of the traditional Tomb of Joseph. Roberts was renowned for his ability to combine architectural accuracy with a romantic, atmospheric sensibility, a skill perfectly translated into print by the master lithographer Louis Haghe.
Published in 1844, this plate captures the “Golden Age” of British lithography. The delicate hand-tinting enhances the warm Mediterranean light and the rolling hills of the background, making it one of the most sought-after images from the series. Roberts’ sketches from his 1838–1839 journey through the Near East provided the Western world with some of its first highly detailed and evocative glimpses of these historic sites.
Provenance
Family Collection, Spain: Part of a distinguished private collection of artworks and antiques.
Acquired from a gallery or at auction in Cape Town, South Africa, between 1991 and 1995 to furnish a local residence.
The collection was subsequently relocated to Spain following the family’s departure from South Africa.
Condition
Original 19th-century hand-tinted example; well-preserved under glass in an ornate gilt frame.
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David Roberts was a preeminent Scottish painter and a pioneer of Orientalist art. After early success as a scene painter for the theatre, he traveled extensively through Egypt and the Near East. The resulting sketches were transformed into a series of lithographs that remain among the most famous and artistically significant travel publications of the 19th century.
Roberts was elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1841, and his works are cornerstones of collections at the Tate Britain and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
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