Artwork
Ile de Philoé
Ile de Philoé is a watercolor work on paper by the Orientalist artist Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds. It dates from 1846 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Ile de Philoé is a watercolour painting created by Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds in 1846. The work captures a scene on the island of Philae in Upper Egypt.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a desert landscape with ancient stone ruins, featuring carved walls and columns. Two figures in simple attire are shown amidst debris, with one holding a staff. The scene conveys a sense of abandonment and decay.
Technique & Style
Linant de Bellefonds employed subtle colour choices and delicate brushwork to render the atmosphere of the scene. Details such as a red cap and the play of light on stone surfaces add depth to the composition.
History & Provenance
The artist travelled to Egypt in 1845 accompanying the Duc de Montpensier. The watercolour was later sold at Sotheby's in June 1967 and subsequently entered a private collection associated with the Duc de Montpensier.
Artist & collection
Artist
Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds
Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds better known as Linant Pasha was an explorer of Egypt and, as the chief engineer of Egypt's public works, 1831–1869, an influential engineer of the Suez Canal.
Egypt and Nubia, Volume I: Grand Approach to the Temple of Philae, Nubia
Egypt and Nubia, Volume I: Portico of the Temple of Kalabshe
Egypt and Nubia, Volume II: Fragments of the Great Colossi at the Memnonium, Thebes
Baalbek
Girgenti. Temple of Juno Lucina.
`Dakheh Nubia'
Ruins of the Eastern Portico of the Temple of Baalbec
Guerfeh Hassan - Nubia
Kom Ombos
Egypt and Nubia: Volume I - No. 42, Grand Approach to the Temple of Philae, Nubia
Temple of Bacchus, Baalbek