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Roberts, David : Jacob's Well at Shechem

Moon, F.G., London, 1844

Lithograph, Image Size : 363x520 (mm), 14.25x20.5 (Inches), Platemark Size : , Paper Size : 423x584 (mm), 16.625x23 (Inches), Hand Colored, Very Good Condition; lower margin extended

The Prints of David Roberts:

Part 1 - The Printer
Louis Haghe (1806-1885) was one of the msot skillful exponents of the tinted lithograph who became a leading reproductive lithographer in England and on the Continent. Haghe's reputation as a lithographer was primarily based upon topographical views, of which Twyman notes "his most important work of this kind, the translation of Roberts' sketches of the Holy Land, represents the culmination of his art".

Part 2 - The Publication of Roberts' Holy Land and Egypt
Roberts first sketched in his journals "on the spot" the vaious subjects which, on returning to London, he transcribed into finished paintings and watercolors. These then formed the basis of the lithographs drawn and printed by Louis Haghe. It is interesting to note that in some instances Roberts' original drawings were twice or three times the size of the published print, which indicated the skill of Haghe and his assistants in transferring Roberts' designs onto lithographic stones.

Part 3 - A Genesis of Roberts' Prints
David Roberts fulfilled a boyhood dream by visiting the East and recording what he saw there; by August 1838 he had resolved to "visit the Holy Land, and make drawings of the scenes of sacred history and the antiquities of Egypt". By this time Roberts had already established himself as a successful topographical artist and published his set of Spanish scenery as tinted lithographs, Picturesque Sketches in Spain, 1837. Eventually he would be elected to the prestigious Royal Academy on the strength of his topographical paintings.

Part 4 - The Plates
Roberts' Holy Land and Egypt project has been called "the most ambitious work ever published in England with lithographic plates" (according to Micheal Twyman). Its production involved over 600 lithographic stones used over an eight to nine year period. It is generally agreed the lithographers Day & Haghe were the most efficient for such large scale work, while Louis Haghe himself was a master lithographer.
The plate formats strongly influenced their presentation as prints: large full-page and small half-page vignettes representing what Roberts intended to be the difference between finished drawings and sketches. roberts was a good judge of accurate transposition of his watercolors and sketches into lithography.
Today historians regard Roberts' Holy Land and Egypt as the last link between the established artist and topographical lithography. Since Roberts' prints were the most costly publishing venture in Britain at the time, undertaken by a publisher "on his own responsibility", Roberts sighed on its completion: " ... thank God .. that with being blessed with health and backed by my ever esteemed friend Louis Haghe I may also say the most satisfactory."

References:
Micheal Twyman, Lithography, 1800-1850, London, 1970
Katherine Sim, David Roberts, London 1984
J.R. Abbey, Travel in aquatint and lithograph 1770-1860, Nos. 272, 385
James Ballantine, The Life of David Roberts, Edinburgh, 1866
Helen Guiterman, David Roberts, London 1978
Barbican Art Gallery (catalogue), David Roberts, London, 1986
British Library (BS)