View of Cairo II – David Roberts & Louis Haghe

Cairo spread out under a pale desert sky. In this view, David Roberts looks across the city from its edge: in the foreground, white domed tombs, a small arched bridge and houses with wooden balconies; beyond them, a forest of minarets and mosque domes stretches as far as the hills on the horizon. A few tiny figures and camels give the scale of the landscape.

The Scottish painter travelled through Egypt in 1838 and 1839 and brought back hundreds of drawings. The lithographer Louis Haghe turned them into the plates of Egypt and Nubia, published between 1846 and 1849, one of the most famous illustrated travel books of the 19th century. Their soft colours and precise architecture shaped the European image of Egypt for generations.

David Roberts, the painter of the Orient

David Roberts (1796-1864) began as a theatre set painter before becoming one of the great travelling artists of his time. His views of Egypt and the Holy Land, lithographed by Louis Haghe (1806-1885), made him famous throughout Europe.

• Artists: David Roberts (1796-1864), lithographed by Louis Haghe (1806-1885)
• Book: Egypt and Nubia, 1846-1849
• Technique: tinted lithograph
• Format: horizontal
• Theme: Cairo, Egypt, mosques, travel

A luminous travel print for a living room or a study. It pairs beautifully with the first view of Cairo and the Pyramids of Geezeh from the same book. More in our vintage travel posters. Printed on thick matte archival paper, in 13 sizes from A4 to A0. Free shipping, no minimum order. Shipped rolled in a sturdy tube.