Artwork

Dayr- El Bukhur - or "of the Pulley" Coptic Convent on Gebel-e-Tayr. Upper Egypt

Dayr- El Bukhur - or "of the Pulley" Coptic Convent on Gebel-e-Tayr. Upper Egypt is a watercolor work on paper by the Impressionist artist George de Sausmarez. It dates from 1855 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Dayr-el-Bukhur, or 'of the Pulley,' is a watercolour depicting the Coptic Convent on Gebel-e-Tayr in Upper Egypt.

About this work

Overview

Dayr-el-Bukhur, or 'of the Pulley,' is a watercolour depicting the Coptic Convent on Gebel-e-Tayr in Upper Egypt. It is one of 45 watercolours in an album of Egyptian and Nubian views.

Subject & Meaning

The subject is an aged stone Coptic convent situated by water, with a small boat afloat on the dark surface below. The scene conveys a sense of serene, worn antiquity.

Technique & Style

The artist employed quick, loose brushstrokes to capture the interplay of light and shadow across the convent's rough, crumbling walls and the pale, cloudy sky.

History & Provenance

Created during or after a 1855 Nile journey, the watercolour is part of an album housed in a half-bound crimson morocco music binder, stamped 'EGYPT' on the front.

Context

Part of a larger collection of 45 watercolours on 35 mounts, this piece is contextualized within 19th-century European artistic engagement with Egyptian and Nubian landscapes.