Plate 50 The Dead Sea from the Highland of Ein Gedi - After David Roberts
Roberts drew this composition on the 4th April 1839.
'This view of the Dead Sea, was sketched from high atop Ein Gedi, not far from the monastery of St. Saba, which appears here in all its astounding drama and impressiveness, perched high atop the cliff carved out by the Kidron. The Dead Sea, some fifty miles in length and eleven miles in width at its widest, lies in the deepest tectonic ditch carved out of the earth's surface, at about one thousand two hundred and ninety-six feet below sea level. This surrealistic body of water is surrounded by an extremely arid landscape on both sides, and only in the northern extremity, near the mouth of the Jordan, does the humidity permit some scattered vegetation to survive. Never brushed by the humid breezes that make the area to the west of Jerusalem so fertile, ten times saltier than any other sea on earth, and so dense that it is impossible to dive into its waters, the Dead Sea has no outlet and has no life forms. Amidst such arid desolation - which struck Roberts however as being rich in mystery and majesty - the occasional oasis appears as an improbable mirage, the guardian of a life that is here negated by the hostility of the land and the pitiless glare of the sun. With its freshwater springs and its luxuriant greenery, Ein Gedi attracted the Scottish artist with all the power of an unexpected miracle.' [1]
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 was published on November 1st 1842.
Medium: Original First Edition Lithograph, with later hand-colouring on thick woven paper.
Half Plate 50.
Inscribed l.l. 'David Roberts R.A.' and l.r. 'The Dead Sea looking towards Moab april 4th 1839', 23.8 x 33.8cm (lithograph size, the composition is arched), mounted (42.6 x 51.4cm).
The original title is visible through a cut out on the mount 'The Dead Sea' and the original text from the publication in 1842 is included attached to the back of the mount.
References:
[1] Fabio Bourbon (ed). Yesterday and Today: The Holy Land. Swan Hill Press: London, 1996, p.150. Translated by A.B.A. Milano.
Condition report: very good for its age. A few small markings and time staining, please see photos. Recently put into a new acid free mount.