oil on canvas 42.5 x 63.5 cm
English stamp on canvas
For this peaceful view of the Nile, the painter relied on a solid composition of horizontals to accentuate the majesty and grandeur of the setting.
In the foreground, Bedouins rest, and in the distance, a white mausoleum can be seen at the top of the hill. The "fanal tower" appears to be an interpretive representation, intended to counterbalance the horizontality of the painting through its verticality.
In the early 19th century, English painters gave a topographical vision of this place. Most artists stuck to this very realistic version. At the turn of the 1860s, pure realists continued to share this deep sense of reality, but some became more concerned with aesthetic values and encroached on realism, as in this painting with the fanal tower.
The tranquil atmosphere and enveloping warmth of the place are perfectly captured by the warm colors, which seem to stretch endlessly and convey the grandiose and fascinating side of the Nile Valley.
