Artwork

Egypt and Nubia: Volume I - No. 1, No. 2, Remains of the Portico of the Temple of Kom Ombo

Egypt and Nubia: Volume I - No. 1, No. 2, Remains of the Portico of the Temple of Kom Ombo is a print by the Romanticist artist Louis Haghe. It dates from 1838 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

Louis Haghe’s 1838 lithograph records the remains of the portico at the Temple of Kom Ombo in Egypt. Part of a larger series on Egyptian and Nubian monuments, the print presents the fragmented stonework of the ruined entrance, emphasizing the weathered columns and decorative fragments that still survive in the desert landscape.

Subject & Meaning

The image focuses on the disassembled elements of the temple’s portico—broken blocks, carved heads, and column fragments—arranged amid a light‑colored sand. By depicting the ruins without embellishment, Haghe underscores the passage of time and the archaeological value of the surviving architectural details.

Technique & Style

Executed in lithography, a medium that Haghe mastered through his partnership in the Day & Hagge firm, the print employs a restrained palette of grays and beiges. The technique allows fine rendering of stone texture and the subtle gradations of light across the desert floor, conveying both the materiality of the ruins and their atmospheric setting.

History & Provenance

Created in 1838, the work formed part of an early Victorian effort to document Egyptian and Nubian sites for a European audience. The lithograph now belongs to the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is preserved as an example of 19th‑century archaeological illustration.