Artist: David Roberts (1796–1864), after an on-the-spot architectural sketch by Frederick Catherwood (1799–1854)
Engraver: William Finden (1787–1852)
Technique: Original Antique Steel Engraving, Plate eighty three
Dimensions: Plate: approx. 10.0x14.5 cm | Page: 15.8x23.4 cm
Status: Authentic 1836 print, explicit text attribution on the lower plate border
Publisher: John Murray, London (Sold also by Charles Tilt)
About the Artwork:
This authentic antique steel engraving, published in 1836, presents a highly detailed and atmospheric interior view titled Bethlehem, Interior of the Convent of the Nativity. The sacred site holds monumental biblical significance, celebrating the traditional birthplace of Jesus as referenced on the lower border at Micah chapter five, verse two, and Luke chapter two, verses one to sixteen. The composition was developed by the legendary British Orientalist master David Roberts, meticulously adapting an accurate on-the-spot field sketch drawn by the noted traveler and architect Frederick Catherwood.
Engraved onto steel with exceptional fine-line precision by William Finden, the dramatic vertical composition highlights rows of ornate silver and brass hanging oil lamps suspended from the high wooden rafters. An elegant arched stone screen opens in the middle ground, framed by massive ancient columns. In the lower left foreground, a group of regional pilgrims and Franciscan monks in traditional cloaks are depicted kneeling in deep prayer on the stone floor, while local figures stand on the right. This plate originates from volume two of the publication Landscape Illustrations of the Bible.
About the Artists:
David Roberts (1796–1864): One of the most acclaimed Scottish landscape and Orientalist painters, celebrated worldwide for his monumental lithographs and drawings documenting Egypt and the Holy Land.
Frederick Catherwood (1799–1854): An English artist, architect, and explorer famed for his precise, pioneering architectural drawings of classical ruins in the Levant and ancient Maya civilizations.
William Finden (1787–1852): A master London line engraver famed for his exceptional fine-line precision on steel plates for top-tier illustrated books