Edward Lear 1812-1888

In December 1866, Edward Lear left England and embarked on a tour of Egypt and Palestine. He had last visited the region thirteen years previously. However, this time he was determined to travel further afield with the ultimate aim of painting in the Nubian Desert.

Arriving in Cairo early January 1867, Lear hired a boat to take him down the Nile. Journeying south he past the cities of Esneh, Edfu, Philae and Wadi Halfa. On the 8^th February, the date inscribed on the present watercolour, he arrived at the hugely impressive Egyptians ruins of Abou Simbel. Lear was clearly inspired by the magnificence of the great heads of Rameses II, and upon seeing them he exclaimed,  ‘I nearly cried with a burst of amazement and delight – even after all I had seen and heard and read of these statues… all other visible things in this world seem to me to be as chips, or potato parings, or any nonsense in comparison,' (see Vivien Noakes, Edward Lear, The life of a Wanderer, 1968, p. 217). Following this watercolour drawn between 9-10.00 am, it appears Lear continued to draw at least four other watercolours of Abou Simbel on the 8th February. The latest known watercolour is numbered 376 and inscribed '1.30pm', (see Philip Hofer, Edward Lear as a Landscape Draughtsman, 1967, pl. 71).