Thebes, The Colossi of Memnon
1874
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1874
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Thebes, The Colossi of Memnon is a 1874 by Henri Béchard, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows two giant stone statues in Egypt. They’re called the Colossi of Memnon. One statue stands in shadow. The other catches the light. Henri Béchard painted these in the 1870s. Back then, photographers often copied each other’s shots. They posed local guides beside the statues for scale. This made every image look almost the same. These statues were famous in ancient times. People once believed one statue sang at sunrise. Check out Henri Béchard (French) in the Cleveland Museum of Art.
