Bethlehem by David Roberts, RA 1796-1864, lithographed in colour by Louis Haghe. This would have been lithographed from one of Roberts's many watercolours of the late 1830s/early 1840s. Perhaps using other views in the area too, it would, in turn, be developed as the oil painting exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1853, entitled Bethlehem the City of David, Looking towards the Dead Sea and the Land of Moab. [The image shown above is in the public domain, available for reproduction on the Wellcome Collection site, reference no. 36793. Click on the image to enlarge it.]
A note in the Wellcome Collection explains, "David Roberts travelled in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly Egypt, from 1838 to 1839. During his journey, Roberts produced a great number of sketches. He developed these into watercolours, which were the basis for the series of 247 lithographs called The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia, published between 1842 and 1849." There are some significant differences in composition between the lithograph and the later oil-painting. Nevertheless, the viewpoint and the lie of the land are similar, and the small tower in the left foreground, and the structures buttressed on the hillside, are recognisably the same. — Jacqueline Banerjee
Bibliography
"Bethlehem." Coloured lithograph by Louis Haghe after David Roberts, 1843. Wellcome Collection. Web. 15 May 2024.
David Roberts. London: Phaidon Press and Barbican Art Gallery, 1987. 86, see pl.76.
Created 15 May 2024