Denderah. Interior of Great Temple

1832

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Dominant colour

Denderah. Interior of Great Temple is a 1832 by Owen Jones, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Owen Jones
When & what style?: 1832 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This sketch shows a quiet temple courtyard with tall, narrow columns and stone walls. A few people sit in the shade near the building’s entrance, while three others stand in the foreground—two kids and an adult. The walls have carvings and hieroglyphs, and the ground looks uneven, like worn stone. The artist focused on the details of ancient Egyptian architecture, showing how light and shadow play across the carvings. The drawing feels rough but full of tiny marks that build up texture. Next, look up cross-hatching to see how artists create depth with just lines.

The story of this work

Overview

The image is a drawing depicting the interior of the Great Temple at Denderah, created by Owen Jones in 1832. It is one of eleven drawings from the Searight Collection, part of a series titled *Views On The Nile From Cairo To The Second Cataract*, published in 1843 as plate 8. Comparable works by the artist are held in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum.

Read the full account in the museum source.