Figures inside the Isis Temple at Philae
signed and dated 'Am. Crapelet 1857' (lower right)
gouache and watercolour
58 x 42cm (22 13/16 x 16 9/16in).

Footnotes

The present lot, depicting the Vestibule of the Isis temple in Philae, was based on a sketch in the collection of the Louvre, Paris. During his visit to Philae, around 1853, Crapelet recorded precise sketches of the columns, capturing the charming balance between light and shadow in the architecture. In the present, finished work we see an indication of the strong polychrome colours that the columns would have been decorated with. As part of the construction of the Aswan Dam in 1947, the temples on the Island of Philae were flooded, and were later moved to the Island of Agilkia.

Trained in Paris, Crapelet was educated by many different artists, including Pierre Adolphe Badin, Charles Séchan, and Camille Corot. Leaving France in 1852, Crapelet travelled to Egypt, and ascended the Nile as far as the third cataract, and would later visit Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Greece and Asia Minor.

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- 19th Century & Orientalist Paintings