Abu Simbel
1907
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1907
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see two massive stone faces carved into a cliff, their features softened by time and sand. The temple at Abu Simbel stands half-buried, its entrance framed by desert light. Newman painted this decades after the temples were dug out of the sand. His tiny dots build up the texture of sun-baked rock and shifting dunes—almost like pointillism, but quieter. If you like how light plays on ancient stone, look up *sfumato*.
