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An illustration showing the ancient columns and the Egyptian oblelisk

Anonymous Greek artist

1809

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Romanticism Early 19th Century Column

Dominant colour

An illustration showing the ancient columns and the Egyptian oblelisk is a 1809 watercolor by Anonymous Greek artist, a Romanticism work, depicting Column, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Anonymous Greek artist
When & what style?: 1809 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This watercolor shows ancient columns and an obelisk in Istanbul. The artist was Greek, but their name is lost. It was painted around 1809. The picture was part of a series for a British diplomat. He wanted records of the buildings he saw in Turkey. The artist was hired locally and made many views. If you like this, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The story of this work

Overview

An illustration by an anonymous Greek artist from 1809 compares the heights of surviving ancient columns in Istanbul, depicting from left to right the Column of the Goths, the Burnt Column, the four sides of the Egyptian Obelisk, the Column of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and the Column of Marcian. Commissioned by Stratford Canning during his diplomatic mission to Istanbul in 1808, the work blends Ottoman artistic techniques with European perspective and was likely created by an artist associated with Konstantin Kapidagli’s circle. The series of architectural views was later acquired by the…

Read the full account in the museum source.