Artwork
Tomb of the Kings, Thebes
Tomb of the Kings, Thebes is a watercolor work on paper by the Aestheticist artist Jane Evelyn Lindsay. It dates from 1896 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Lady Jane Evelyn Lindsay’s watercolour, Tomb of the Kings, Thebes, records an Egyptian archaeological landscape.
Lady Jane Evelyn Lindsay’s watercolour, Tomb of the Kings, Thebes, records an Egyptian archaeological landscape. Executed in the late nineteenth century, the piece presents a rugged valley with jagged cliffs rendered in warm ochres and browns, a narrow stream winding through loose stone and occasional snow patches. The handling is brisk, the brushwork loose, emphasizing atmosphere over exact topographical detail.
Subject & Meaning
The composition portrays the environs of the Theban necropolis known as the Tomb of the Kings, a site of ancient burial chambers. By focusing on the surrounding terrain rather than architectural specifics, Lindsay conveys the stark, timeless character of the desert valley, inviting contemplation of the ancient past embedded in the landscape.
Technique & Style
Executed in watercolor, the work relies on transparent washes to model light and shadow. Lindsay’s application is rapid and gestural, allowing the pigments to blend on paper and create a soft, sketch‑like quality. The limited palette of yellows, browns and muted whites captures the play of sunlight on rock and the fleeting presence of snow.
History & Provenance
The drawing formed part of a broader assemblage of Lindsay’s watercolours, portraits, stained‑glass designs and landscape studies that her descendants offered for sale in 1977. After that sale, the piece entered the art market, passing through Sotheby’s and the Fine Art Society before being acquired in 1979.
Context
Lindsay’s Egyptian sketches coincide with the Anglo‑Egyptian military preparations led by General Kitchener in 1896, a period when many British travelers documented the region’s antiquities. Her work reflects the Victorian era’s fascination with Egyptology and the practice of recording sites through portable media such as watercolor.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jane Evelyn Atkins was an English artist who traveled to Egypt in 1896. She painted four watercolors of that trip: soldiers marching from Wady Halfa to Sarras, the roof of Denderah temple, recruitment in Assiut, and the…
![Cavalry under Capt.[sic] Broadwood marching from Wady Halfa to Sarras., by Jane Evelyn Lindsay](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/jane-evelyn-lindsay--cavalry-under-capt-sic-broadwood-marching-from-wady-halfa-to--484d424a0df1fcb2-w320.webp)
Distant View of the Pyramids - from the Desert at Cairo,![The Cape of the Veil [Sinai], by William Edward Dighton](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/william-edward-dighton--the-cape-of-the-veil-sinai--972bd1edd967dc98-w320.webp)
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