David Roberts RA, The Gateway to the Great Temple at Baalbec, 1841.
Oil on panel. 758 mm x 618 mm x 215 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographer: Prudence Cuming Associates Limited.
This image is not available to download. To licence this image for commercial purposes, contact our Picture Library at picturelibrary@royalacademy.org.uk
The Gateway to the Great Temple at Baalbec, 1841
David Roberts RA (1796 - 1864)
RA Collection: Art
David Roberts was the first independent British artist to travel and paint extensively in the Near East. His evocative portrayals of ancient monuments and vast desert landscapes brought the topography of Egypt and the 'lands of the Bible' to an appreciative European audience.
This painting, his RA 'Diploma' work, depicts the Great Temple at Baalbec in the Lebanon. Roberts visited this site on his first tour of the region in 1839 and described the daunting task of depicting a building of such 'magnificence…that it is impossible to convey any idea, either by pencil or pen…the beauty of its form, the exquisite richness of its ornament and the vast magnitude of its dimensions are altogether unparalleled...' Around the temple itself, Roberts included tiny figures in local dress, emphasising both the massive scale of the ruin and its location.
Object details
758 mm x 618 mm x 215 mm
Associated works of art
1 results
Start exploring the RA Collection
- Explore art works, paint-smeared palettes, scribbled letters and more...
- Artists and architects have run the RA for 250 years.
Our Collection is a record of them.
Related articles
-
![RA cast display installation]()
Our Collection
7 months ago
Video: Historic casts are re-installed at the RA Schools
After years in storage, watch as our cast collection is re-installed around the RA Schools.
-
![Richard Cosway RA, Richard and Maria Cosway, and Ottobah Cugoano (detail)]()
Our Collection
1 year ago
Untold Stories
Recent research reveals how the Royal Academy’s founding artists worked amidst Britain’s imperial expansion in the 18th century, the transatlantic slave trade, and a growing abolitionist movement.
-
![Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA,, Self-portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds, PRA]()
Our Collection
< 2 years ago
Creative inspiration today from the first President of the Royal Academy
The RA’s founding President Joshua Reynolds may have shaken up the art world when he delivered his ‘Discourses’ lectures, but are they still relevant now? We take a closer look at what artists and art-lovers can learn from the series today.
-
![Emma Stibbon RA, Collapsed Whaling Station, Deception Island, Antarctica]()
Our Collection
< 2 years ago
Video: Apocalyptic printmaking and extreme environments with Emma Stibbon RA
Watch Emma Stibbon describes the unforgiving conditions and dramatic landscapes that inspired her display in the Collection Gallery.
