Artwork
Karnac - Gt Hall of Columns View across central avenue
Karnac - Gt Hall of Columns View across central avenue is a watercolor work on paper by the British Romanticist artist Richard Phené FRIBA FSA Spiers. It dates from 1866 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
This watercolour painting, created by Richard Phené Spiers in 1866, captures the grandeur of the Great Hypostyle Hall at the Temple of Amun in Karnak.
Subject & Meaning
The work depicts the central avenue of massive columns, adorned with intricate carvings and hieroglyphics, evoking a sense of ancient majesty. Figures in robes and a camel are scattered throughout the space, adding a sense of scale and context.
Technique & Style
Spiers's use of watercolour effectively conveys the atmosphere of the vast, open space, with the bright blue sky contrasting with the ancient stone columns.
History & Provenance
The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1867 and later reproduced in Spiers's 1887 publication *Egypt: A Series of Thirty-six Views of Ancient and Modern Egypt*. It was sold at Bonhams in July 1981.
Artist & collection
Artist
Richard Phené FRIBA FSA Spiers
Richard Phené painted watercolours of grand old buildings in the 1800s. His brush captured places like Cairo’s Suq al-Nahhasin (1866) and the Great Khan in Damascus (1865–66). He also turned his eye to Hampton Court…
Egypt and Nubia, Volume I: Thebes, Great Hall at Karnac
Egypt and Nubia, Volume II: Karnac
Interior of the Temple of Karnak, Thebes Upper Egypt.
Temple of Isis, Philae
Cleopatra at Philae
Egypt and Nubia: Volume I - Frontispiece, View under the Grand Portico, Philae
A Doorway at Philae
Interior of Crystal Palace, Egyptian Court, columns from the Temple of Karnak
Egypt and Nubia, Volume II: Edfou