Thebes

1884/1885

Edward Lear

Associated Names
Edward Lear

Artist, British, 1812 - 1888

The image shows a landscape sketch featuring an ancient Egyptian scene. The point of view is slightly elevated, capturing palm trees and ruins in an expansive setting. Stone structures and temple remnants are visible against the sky, with palm trees and distant mountains in the background. The sketch uses loose brushstrokes in shades of gray and black, creating a soft, atmospheric quality. Water buffalo are depicted near a body of water, adding life to the scene. The palette is limited to grayscale tones, providing depth to the landscape.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    black and gray wash over traces of graphite on card

  • Credit Line

    Joseph F. McCrindle Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 9.7 x 14.6 cm (3 13/16 x 5 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2010.93.36

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Tennyson family (part of an album of 200 drawings illustrating Tennyson poems; this one no. 72); Tennyson Research Centre, Lincoln, until 1980. (Thos. Agnew and Sons, London, 1980, the album broken up and the drawings dispersed); Joseph F. McCrindle [1923-2008], New York, 1984; gift to NGA, 2010.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1988

  • Pitman, Ruth. Edward Lear's Tennyson. Manchester, 1988: 107-108

2012

  • Grasselli, Margaret M., and Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., eds. The McCrindle Gift: A Distinguished Collection of Drawings and Watercolors. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 2012: 171 (color).

Inscriptions

signed by artist lower right in gray ink: EL (in monogram); by artist lower left in gray ink: Thebes; verso in brown ink: 72

Wikidata ID

Q64557561

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