David Roberts, R.A.

Estimate

3,000 - 5,000 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

David Roberts, R.A.
Porch of the Great mosque at Córdoba, Spain
Watercolour over pencil, heightened with bodycolour and touches of gum arabic, on grey paper;
signed and dated lower right: David Roberts. 1833; inscribed lower right: PORCH OF AN /ANCIENT MOSQUE / AT / CORDVBA [sic] / JAN^Y 22^d1833
247 by 343 mm

Exhibited

London, Barbican Art Gallery, David Roberts, 1986, no. 88

Condition

This work is in good condition. The paper has retained its original colour and the draughtsman is clearly visible.
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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."

Catalogue Note

The great mosque at Córdoba is now a Cathedral but when it was completed in 987, it was the largest scared building of Islam, after the Kaaba at Mecca. The ground plan measures only a little less than St. Peter’s in Rome.

This watercolour was made in situ on the 22 January 1833. Roberts had arrived in Córdoba, from Madrid, on the 9^th January and he was delighted to be in the warmth of the south and in a place that he described as being for the ‘Antequary [sic] and the Artist… rich beyond Measure.’¹ The mosque was of particular interest and he made several drawings of its interiors and exterior, before moving on to Granada. Before leaving, he wrote home to Scotland reporting 'it is superfluous to say that my Portfolio is getting rich, the subjects are not only very good but of a very novel character.'²

In circa 1836, Roberts used the present 'on-the-spot' drawing to create a second watercolour. That work was lithographed by William Gauci for the 1837 publication 'Picturesque sketches in Spain.' We would like to thank Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz for her help when cataloguing this work.

^{1. K. Sim, David Roberts, R.A. 1796-1864, London, Melbourne and New York, 1984, p. 71}
^{2. K. Sim, op. cit., p. 72}