Entrance to the temple in Karnak. From the journey to Egypt

Entrance to the Temple in Karnak. From the Journey to Egypt shows the entrance pylon of one of Karnak's subsidiary temples — the massive trapezoidal gateway forms that punctuated the processional way and separated one sacred precinct from another. Egyptian temple entrances were among the most architecturally imposing elements of ancient building, their scale designed to overawe the worshipper approaching the inner sanctum. Ciągliński's study captures this quality of overwhelming mass in the intense Egyptian light.

The pylon's massive bulk fills much of the canvas, its tapering form emphasized by the extreme Egyptian light that catches the upper surfaces and casts the lower registers in deep shadow. Ciągliński renders the sandstone in warm ochre and pink, with blue-grey in the shadow passages.