Artwork
Palm trees at Karnak, Thebes
Palm trees at Karnak, Thebes is a watercolor work on paper by the Orientalist artist Marc-Charles-Gabriel Gleyre. It dates from 1838 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Palm trees at Karnak, Thebes is a watercolour painting by Marc-Charles-Gabriel Gleyre, depicting a serene landscape with palm trees and a lone rider on horseback.
Subject & Meaning
The painting features a group of tall palm trees in a sandy area, with a rider on horseback approaching them, set against a backdrop of distant hills and a hazy sky, evoking a sense of tranquility.
Technique & Style
Gleyre's use of watercolour gives the painting a soft, dreamy quality, with the pale colours and gentle washes creating a sense of subtlety and restraint.
History & Provenance
The watercolour was likely created during or shortly after Gleyre's visit to Thebes in 1835, and was later purchased from Walter Spencer around 1960.
Context
The painting is one of several versions of the subject produced by Gleyre, with variations existing in oil and adapted by Hector Horeau for publication in 1841.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Marc Gleyre painted delicate watercolors of Egyptian ruins and palms during the 1830s, when Europe was gripped by Egyptomania.
Aswan; looking south up the Nile
Group of Arabs near Alexandria - 1801 - taken on the Spot
Date grove near Alexandria
Rural Scene in Upper Egypt, on the banks of the Nile
Palma Real
Date Gatherers
Tomb of Zobeida wife of Haroon ool Rashid in distance
Mosque, possibly in North Africa
Pyramid of Abu Roash from the Village of Kerdassy
Distant View of Bushire in the Persian Gulf
`The Doum Palm Dendera "On the Nile"
Study of Palm Trees