Colossi, Thebes, Egypt

Roberts's Colossi, Thebes from around 1838 reflects the growing European fascination with ancient Egyptian monuments that followed Napoleon's Egyptian campaign (1798-1801) and the subsequent wave of Egyptological exploration and publication. The Colossi of Memnon—the two massive stone statues of Amenhotep III that had stood for three thousand years on the Theban plain—were among the most celebrated ancient monuments in the world, their size and antiquity embodying the Romantic theme of sublime historical grandeur that made Egyptian subjects irresistible to nineteenth-century painters. Roberts visited the Theban monuments in 1838-39 during his Egyptian tour, and his documentation of the Colossi combined topographical accuracy with the atmospheric rendering of Egyptian desert light that gave his work its distinctive quality.

The enormous stone figures dominate the composition, their scale emphasized by the tiny human figures at their base. Martin's warm, golden palette evokes the Egyptian desert light, while his precise architectural rendering gives the ancient monuments convincing presence.