Fountain at Cana - David Roberts
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Description
A detailed watercolour study by David Roberts, capturing figures at a stone fountain in Cana during his 1839 travels through the Near East.
David Roberts, a Scottish painter of significant technical skill, travelled extensively through the Near East during the late 1830s. This work, dated 21 April 1839, captures a scene at a stone fountain in Cana. Roberts possessed a keen eye for architectural detail and the daily activities of the local population, documenting the region with a precision that appealed to the Victorian fascination with biblical sites and foreign cultures.
The composition focuses on the stone structure of the fountain, which serves as a gathering place for figures dressed in traditional attire. Roberts employs a light, controlled wash of watercolour over precise graphite lines, allowing the texture of the stone and the soft quality of the light to emerge. The figures are rendered with careful attention to their posture and clothing, providing a sense of scale and human presence against the weathered masonry. The background remains sparse, directing the viewer's attention to the interaction between the people and the ancient water source.
This piece reflects the broader tradition of topographical art, where the artist acts as a visual chronicler of distant lands. Roberts avoids excessive ornamentation, preferring a balanced approach that prioritises clarity and observational accuracy. His ability to integrate human subjects into historical settings provides a glimpse into the social fabric of the Levant during the nineteenth century. The muted palette, dominated by earth tones and soft greys, reinforces the arid environment and the antiquity of the site. As a museum-grade print, this work offers a clear view into the methods of a traveller-artist whose sketches formed the basis for extensive lithographic publications, which shaped the European perception of the Middle East for decades.
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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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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
Fountain at Cana - 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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