Artwork
Date Gatherers
Date Gatherers is a watercolor work on paper by the Romanticist artist Unknown. It dates from 1847 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Created in 1847, this watercolour is one of a series of eight landscape views depicting scenes from Turkey and Egypt.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1847, this watercolour is one of a series of eight landscape views depicting scenes from Turkey and Egypt. The set was produced during a single expedition, with contributions from at least two different artists, and later the individual sheets were removed from their original album or portfolio.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing records a pair of figures walking beneath tall palm trees laden with heavy, drooping fruit. One figure appears to be bearing a load, while the companion follows closely, suggesting a moment of everyday travel or labor within an exotic setting.
Technique & Style
Executed with rapid, loose brushwork and a muted palette, the watercolour emphasizes light and shadow over precise detail. The sketchy handling and soft coloration convey the immediacy of on‑site observation, characteristic of quick field studies.
History & Provenance
Evidence on the reverse of the mounting shows references to neighboring images and partial impressions from opposite pages, indicating the work was once part of a bound collection. Stylistic analysis connects it to another drawing catalogued as SD.1316, reinforcing its place within the larger series.
Artist & collection
Group of Arabs near Alexandria - 1801 - taken on the Spot
Date grove near Alexandria
Palm trees at Karnak, Thebes
Plantain tree
Palma Real
A Scene in the Desert Wady Gharendl
Distant View of Bushire in the Persian Gulf
`The Doum Palm Dendera "On the Nile"
Mahatta
Wady Firan, Sinai
Studies of palms and other foliage, with a domed tomb and a goat- Wady Feiran