Bethany - David Roberts
Archival giclée
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Description
A detailed topographical study of Bethany by David Roberts, capturing the village and travellers on a desert path in 1839.
This work depicts the village of Bethany, situated on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. David Roberts produced this study during his extensive travels through the Near East in 1839. The composition captures the arid, undulating terrain characteristic of the region, with the stone structures of the village appearing to emerge from the hillside.
In the foreground, a group of travellers with camels and horses navigates a narrow path. This inclusion provides a sense of scale and human activity against the vast, quiet geography. Roberts employs a restrained palette of ochre, muted brown, and soft grey, which reflects the sun-bleached quality of the environment. His technique combines precise graphite outlines with delicate watercolour washes, a method he refined during his earlier career as a theatrical scene painter.
This piece is part of the documentation Roberts compiled for his ambitious publication, The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia. Unlike many of his contemporaries who relied on second-hand accounts, Roberts visited these sites personally. He recorded the architecture and atmosphere with a focus on accuracy and observation. The work demonstrates his ability to balance the architectural details of the village with the expansive, atmospheric qualities of the surrounding hills. The soft lighting suggests the early morning or late afternoon, times when the harsh glare of the desert sun is tempered, allowing for greater clarity in the forms of the buildings and the texture of the rock. This print offers a view into the nineteenth-century European fascination with the Near East, presented through the lens of a skilled draughtsman.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Bethany - David Roberts
Artist Biography
David Roberts
In 1838 he sailed for Egypt and spent the next two years travelling through the Middle East, filling sketchbooks with drawings of temples, mosques, ruins and desert landscapes that almost no British artist had recorded before. To enter the mosques he had to shave off his sideburns, leave his hog-hair brushes behind (the pig being unclean), and wear traditional Arab clothing while he worked. He was one of the first Europeans allowed to paint inside a mosque.
The sketches became The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia, a series of 247 lithograph plates produced in collaboration with the printer Louis Haghe between 1842 and 1849. He funded the project through advance subscriptions, soliciting them personally. Queen Victoria was subscriber number one. Her complete set is still in the Royal Collection.
The lithographs gave Europeans their first detailed visual record of the ancient Near East. They were bought as art, used as reference by scholars, and shaped the Western imagination of Egypt and Palestine for the rest of the century.
His personal life was less composed. His wife Margaret became an alcoholic and in 1831 he sent her back to Scotland to be cared for by friends. He raised their daughter Christine largely alone. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1841, a considerable achievement for a man who had started painting houses, and worked steadily until his death in 1864.
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