Artist: William Henry Bartlett (1809–1854)
Engraver: Thomas Abiel Prior (1809–1886)
Technique: Original Antique Steel Engraving
Dimensions: Plate: 12.2x18.8 cm | Page: 20.0x26.9 cm
Status: Authentic print published between eighteen thirty six and eighteen thirty eight, explicit text attributions on the lower border
Publisher: Fisher, Son & Co., London & Paris
About the Artwork:
This authentic antique steel engraving, published circa 1836, captures a majestic topographical panoramic view of the historic mountain village of Deir el-Qamar (Der El Kamar -"Monastery of the Moon") and the monumental, sprawling palace complex of Beiteddine in Mount Lebanon. Masterfully drawn from nature by the celebrated British topographical artist William Henry Bartlett, the composition contrasts the dense stone traditional buildings of the village clinging to the steep left mountainside with the expansive Emir's palaces perched dramatically across the deep valley gorge on the right. The foreground is richly populated with highly detailed regional figures in traditional attire, including Druze women wearing the historic conical Tantour headdresses and Ottoman-garbed men conversing on an elevated terrace pathway near grazing cattle. Engraved onto steel with exceptional fine-line precision and beautiful atmospheric perspective by Thomas Abiel Prior, this print captures the cultural and architectural heritage of Lebanon under a clear sky with distant, rolling mountain ridges. This plate originates from the prominent nineteenth-century publication Syria, The Holy Land, Asia Minor, &c. Illustrated.
About the Artists:
William Henry Bartlett (1809–1854): One of the most celebrated and prolific British topographical illustrators of the nineteenth century, famed for his highly accurate on-the-spot travel sketches of the Middle East, Europe, and North America.
Thomas Abiel Prior (1809–1886): A highly esteemed English line and landscape engraver who achieved great recognition for his masterfully detailed steel-plate renderings of architectural vistas and landscapes.