Plate 161 The Facade of the Temple of Hathor at Dendra - After David Roberts
Writing in his journal on the 7th December 1838, Roberts said he was 'All day at Dendra. After much trouble, got an excellent view of the temple lookings inwards. This and an interior were all that I could do.' [1] This lithograph shows the endeavours of this day and it is a magnificent view that Roberts painted.
'The temple of Dendra does not feature the pylon usually present in sacred Egyptian architecture; the front of the building is formed by a massive structure measuring 139 feet wide by 60 feet high, with six columns on the facade on which an impressive cornice rests. The intercolumnisations are occupied as far as halfway up by panels covered with hieroglypic texts and bas-reliefs, while the entrance opens in the center, forming a high, empty space wider than the adjacent ones. Inside, 18 more columns stand in three rows; all the capitals reproduced the features of the patron goddess of the place. As it is higher than the rest of the temple, this hypostyle room, added under Tiberius, to some extent acts as the missing pylon. The whole building, with its markedly trapezoidal shape and massive columns, might appear graceless and even unharmonious, but the perfect balancebetween solid and hollow effects and the minute details of the rich ornamentation are some of the features that make it an architectural miracle. Roberts was evidently somewhat awestruck by this miracle, as by his own admission he spent much of December 7, looking for the right angle from which to make his drawing.
Despite the hesitation he expressed about the success of his work, the drawing is very high quality, and gives very good insight into Roberts's outstanding technique, here splendidly enhanced by the craftsmanship of Louis Haghe. The descriptive detail of one is emphasised by the meticulous sensitivity of the other in a symbiosis rarely equalled for evocative power and the success of the aesthetic result. The almost obsessive attention to reproducing even the smallest details is quite incredible. It is therefore a real tragedy that the fury of the Coptic monks, who had converted the temple into a church, was mainly unleashed against the images of Hathor, a young woman with an enigmatic smile; Roberts regretted that he could not draw the huge capitals as they once were, decorated with the lovely face of the goddess, now pathetically disfigured. Fortunately, the colours were still vivid, especially on the ceiling of the hypostyle room and the column drums.' [2]
The drawings and watercolours from this tour by David Roberts of the Holy Land and Egypt were collated together into folios and released over a seven year period by the publisher F.G. Moon from 20 Threadneedle Street London. This lithograph is an original First Edition version published on the 1st May 1847.
Medium: Original First Edition, Full-Plate hand-coloured lithograph on thick woven paper.
Full Plate 161.
Inscribed on lithograph l.l. 'Dendra Decr 7th 1838' and 'David Roberts RA L Haghe lith', 32.7 x 48.7cm (picture size), mounted.
References:
[1] David Roberts Journal, 7 December 1838.
[2] Fabio Bourbon (ed). Yesterday and Today: Egypt. Swan Hill Press: London, 1997, p.187. Translated by Antony Shugaar.
Condition report: the lithograph is generally in good condition for its age. There is a small amount of time staining and a white small circular white mark towards the upper left. Please see photos.