Thebes. Colossal statues of Amenhotep III - a decoration that combines art and archaeological discovery - David Roberts, Egypt and Nubia 1838

Color lithograph: Thebes. The colossal statues of Amenhotep III

The colossal statues of Amenhotep III, located on the plain of Thebes, are about forty-seven feet high, excluding the pedestals, and were originally carved from a single block of stone. These statues, part of a great dromos leading to the temple of Amenhotep III, are almost entirely buried by alluvial deposits left by the annual floods of the Nile. Although the statues are now partly deteriorated, they bear witness to the grandeur of ancient Egyptian art.

Reproduction of an engraving of a drawing by David Roberts (1796-1864) made during his three-month journey from Alexandria to the temple of Abu Simbel in Nubia, a journey of more than fifteen hundred kilometers.

His drawings were already the subject of considerable success during his lifetime, in particular those published between 1846 and 1849 in the form of three volumes, published in London by FG Moon and entitled Egypt and Nubia, made from the drawings and sketches made during this trip to the banks of the Nile during the winter of 1838-1839, and lithographed by Louis Haghe.