Léon Belly French, 1827-1877

Wooden houseboats, called dahabieh, were a common sight along the Nile until the building of the Aswan High Dam. The name derives from the Arabic word dahab or gold, as up until the early nineteenth century dahabieh owners were required to paint their outer walls in gold. These boats ranged in size from veritable floating palaces belonging to the ruling family, which had to be towed by tug boats, to working transports powered by sail or steam. Belly depicts one of the most popular types of dahabieh, combining flat decking for goods with living quarters for the skipper and his family or crew. 

Here, a dahabieh has run aground in shallows on the banks of the Nile at Luxor. Bare-chested men use poles and their own body weight to try to dislodge it. The sail is hoisted in the hope that the wind will provide the extra force to set the boat free. In the background, on the far bank of the Nile, the distinctive red granite hills safeguarding the Valley of the Kings beyond glow in the morning sunlight.

Belly travelled to Egypt three times during the 1850s. The inspiration for the present work was no doubt the journey he made up the Nile in 1856 in the company of Edouard Imer, Jean-Léon Gérôme, and Narcisse Berchère. During the three-month expedition, he sketched prolifically and painted a series of small pictures, both from the boat and from the water's edge. Henceforth Belly became best known for his Orientalist paintings, most famously for his imposing 1861 Salon work, Pilgrims going to Mecca, which was purchased by the French State and today hangs in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.  

This painting is offered in its original Salon frame.