Who painted Egypt and Nubia, Volume III: Tombs of the Khalifs, Cairo?

Egypt and Nubia, Volume III: Tombs of the Khalifs, Cairo was painted by Louis Haghe in 1848.

Where can I see Egypt and Nubia, Volume III: Tombs of the Khalifs, Cairo?

Egypt and Nubia, Volume III: Tombs of the Khalifs, Cairo is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

What movement is Egypt and Nubia, Volume III: Tombs of the Khalifs, Cairo?

Egypt and Nubia, Volume III: Tombs of the Khalifs, Cairo is associated with Romanticism.

Artwork

Egypt and Nubia, Volume III: Tombs of the Khalifs, Cairo

Louis Haghe , 1848

Egypt and Nubia, Volume III: Tombs of the Khalifs, Cairo is a print by the Romanticist artist Louis Haghe. It dates from 1848 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

The buildings look old, with arched doors and small windows, and the ground is uneven with some rubble.

This painting shows a tall, striped tower with a pointed top and a rounded dome next to it. Below, a busy courtyard has people sitting, standing, and walking around. The buildings look old, with arched doors and small windows, and the ground is uneven with some rubble.

The tower’s stripes and the dome’s pattern suggest careful detail work. This was made in 1848 by an artist who focused on faraway places.

Look up Romanticism to see how artists like this one showed distant lands.

Overview

Louis Haghe’s 1848 lithograph, titled *Egypt and Nubia, Volume III: Tombs of the Khalifs, Cairo*, presents a view of a Cairo courtyard framed by a tall, striped tower capped with a pointed spire and a rounded, patterned dome. The scene captures a bustling urban space populated by figures in motion amid aged stone structures, arches, and uneven ground.

Subject & Meaning

The composition records an architectural ensemble of tombs and surrounding buildings, illustrating the historic fabric of Cairo’s Khalif district. By foregrounding everyday activity alongside monumental forms, Haghe offers a visual record of 19th‑century Egyptian urban life, reflecting contemporary European curiosity about the region’s heritage.

Technique & Style

Executed as a lithograph, the work showcases Haghe’s precise line work and careful shading, evident in the striped tower and the decorative dome. The rendering balances detailed architectural elements with atmospheric depth, aligning with the Romantic era’s penchant for exotic, meticulously observed landscapes.

History & Provenance

Hagge, a Belgian‑born artist who trained in watercolor and lithography, co‑founded the London firm Day & Haghe, a leading early Victorian printing house. The print entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains part of the museum’s holdings of 19th‑century travel imagery.

Context

Produced during a period of heightened European interest in Egypt and Nubia, the lithograph forms part of a larger series documenting archaeological and architectural sites. Such works catered to a market eager for visual accounts of distant cultures, feeding both scholarly study and popular imagination.