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Vintage-Views Antique Prints and Maps :: Antique Prints :: Landscape :: David Roberts, Holyland Prints
David Roberts (1796-1864), scottish painter, was born near Edinburgh Scotland. He was the son of a shoemaker and as a child he was apprenticed to a house-painter. From 1816 until 1830 he was employed in the theatre to design and paint stage scenery, first in Edinburgh and Glasgow and after 1822 in London. While in Scotland he met and worked with Clarkson Stanfield and later collaborated with him in London on dioramas and panoramas. Among his commissions from Covent Garden were the sets for the first London performance of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail in 1827. Later, he became a scenery painter to a travelling circus; all the while, improving his skills as an illustrator. During his extensive travels abroad he sketched local scenery and costume. His drawings of Spain were published as colorful lithographs in the series Picturesque Sketches in Spain during the years 1822 and 1823. His greatest work was issued in six volumes and contained nearly 250 chromolithographs of views of the Middle East & Holy Land. In the autumn of 1838 Roberts hired a boat on the Nile, traveling fast upstream as far as possible, then returning at a leisurely pace, making detailed additions to preliminary sketches. He was most captivated by the temples at Edfu and Philae, drawing them from many different perspectives. His works have long been praised and admired for their accuracy in depicting the architecture, costume, culture and landscapes of the Middle East. His art has been re-published many times.
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