Artwork
Fountain at Balbec
Fountain at Balbec is a watercolor work on paper by the British Romanticist artist William Clerihew. It dates from 1851 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Fountain at Balbec is a watercolour executed in 1851 by William Clerihew, an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The work portrays a small circular building traditionally identified as the Temple of Venus, set within a modest landscape that includes distant trees and a city silhouette.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a stone temple with a curved roof and four prominent columns, its surfaces rendered with detailed carving. Two figures in simple attire stand on a low wall to the left, gazing upward, suggesting a contemplative engagement with the ancient monument.
Technique & Style
Clerihew employs the transparent qualities of watercolour to delineate the stone texture and atmospheric background. Light and shadow are modulated through washes of muted brown, allowing the architectural forms to emerge with a restrained yet precise hand.
History & Provenance
After remaining in private hands for over a century, the painting appeared at Sothe’s in September 1975, where it fetched £55, as documented by auction specialist Rodney Searight.
Artist & collection
Artist
This British watercolor painter worked in the 1850s and left small, delicate scenes of everyday places.
View of the Western facade of the Boukoleon Palace
Perspective view of the Temple of Antaeopolis
Edfoo
Reconstruction of the three temples at Sbeitla
Ruins of the Eastern Portico of the Temple of Baalbec
The Temple of Jupiter, Baalbek
Temple of Edfoo
`Dakheh Nubia'
Egypt and Nubia, Volume I: Portico of the Temple of Kalabshe
Ile de Philoé
Figures among Classical Ruins, probably in Sicily
View of the Northern Gate of Dendera or Tentyra