Edward Lear British, 1812-1888

Sale: Sotheby's, London, 22 November 1983, lot 23
Mathaf Gallery, London
Purchased by the present owner in the 1980s

Philip Hofer, Edward Lear as a Landscape Draughtsman, London, 1967, p. 39, discussed
Lynne Thornton, Les Orientalistes. Peintres voyageurs, Paris, 2001, p. 107, illustrated

The canvas has been relined. Apart from some very small spots of retouching in the sky upper left and upper right and some faint craquelure this work is in very good overall condition. Held in a decorative gilt frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Painted circa 1869

On the 12 January 1849, Lear and his friend John Cross left Cairo for Suez, travelling in style with a dragoman and other servants. The party rode on camels, which Lear noted were 'the most odious beasts...certainly uninteresting quadrupeds as to their social qualities' (letter to his wife Ann Lear, 16 January).

Their journey followed the Exodus, the route of the Israelites out of Egypt. There has been a great deal of debate over the exact location of the biblical Mount Sinai where the Hebrew god gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. The mountain seen here is in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and when Lear first saw it he was clearly moved: 'The 25^th we crossed a high pass - El Hawy - & came to El Raha, the great plain which universal tradition has affixed as the site of the Israelite's Camp, below the immense mountain called Horeb or Sinai. The excessive & wonderful grandeur of the spot is not to be described...& the adaption of the whole scene to that recorded in Scripture is equally astonishing...these mountains have from the earliest known authorities always been known as Sinai or Horeb' (letter to Ann Lear, 1 February).

Lear stayed in the monastery of St Catherine, on the right shoulder of the mountain, though it is not visible in this work. He remained there for three days and made a number of drawings of his surroundings. The present work was painted a number of years after this trip. His finished oils and watercolours were often produced on a commission basis with potential buyers choosing subjects from the studies he had made at the time.

Lear was particularly interested in the colours that he witnessed while in Egypt. The present work exemplifies the lasting impact which Egypt had on Lear's painterly vision. Although the work would have been created from memory, Lear captures the vastness of the landscape and imbues it with a warm and hazy glow. Although Mount Sinai is by no means the highest peak within this mountain range, its central presence has a powerful impact.