Convent of St. Catherine with Mount Horeb - David Roberts
Archival giclée
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Description
A detailed watercolour by David Roberts depicting the historic Monastery of Saint Catherine set against the dramatic granite peaks of Mount Horeb.
David Roberts, a Scottish painter known for his meticulous documentation of the Near East, produced this work following his extensive travels in 1838 and 1839. The image depicts the ancient Monastery of Saint Catherine, situated at the base of the granite peaks of Mount Horeb in the Sinai Peninsula. Roberts utilised a precise, observational approach to capture the sheer scale of the mountain range, which looms over the fortified structure with imposing verticality.
The composition balances the architectural solidity of the monastery with the rugged, weathered textures of the surrounding rock faces. Roberts employed a muted palette of ochre, grey, and soft brown to convey the arid atmosphere of the desert environment. Small figures and a camel caravan appear in the foreground, providing a sense of scale against the massive geological formations. The light, coming from the left, casts soft shadows that define the crevices and ridges of the mountains, demonstrating the artist's skill in handling light and shadow to create depth.
This work is part of a larger series of sketches and watercolours that Roberts later developed into lithographs for his publication, 'The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia'. These prints were instrumental in shaping the European perception of the Middle East during the nineteenth century. The artist's focus remains on the physical reality of the site, documenting the interplay between human construction and the natural environment. The work avoids excessive romanticism, favouring a clear, descriptive style that reflects the Victorian interest in exploration and archaeological accuracy. The inclusion of the cypress trees and the caravan adds a human element to the otherwise desolate and monumental setting, grounding the scene in the reality of travel during the period.
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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.
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Specific Features
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- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
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- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
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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
Convent of St. Catherine with Mount Horeb - 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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