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Lake Tiberias

Maria Harriett Mathias

1857

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

British Romanticism Impressionism Realism Early 19th Century

Dominant colour

Lake Tiberias is a 1857 watercolor by Maria Harriett Mathias, a British Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Maria Harriett Mathias
When & what style?: 1857 · British Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This sketch shows a quiet lakeside town with crumbling stone walls. The buildings sit on a hillside, looking old and worn. Behind them, a calm lake stretches to distant mountains, painted in soft blues and grays. The artist used light washes of color to keep it simple and airy. The focus is on the shapes and shadows, not tiny details. If you like this style, check out Impressionism next.

The story of this work

Overview

A watercolour drawing titled *Lake Tiberias* by Maria Harriet Mathias (née Rawstorne) from 1857 depicts a scenic view of the lake. The work was likely part of an album featuring watercolours from her travels in Egypt, the Levant, and Italy, many of which were inscribed and dated between 1856 and 1857. The album, including this piece, was sold at Christie’s in 1978 before being acquired by The Fine Art Society, London, and subsequently purchased by the Royal Geographical Society.

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Maria Harriett Mathias

Maria Harriet Mathias painted delicate watercolors of the Middle East in 1857. The five works in this set show views from Egypt and Lebanon—Edfoo’s temple walls, cedar groves, a boat trip near Asouan, the skyline of…

See the richer artist page