Scanned from a slide by Bill Prochazka. Photographed by Scott Wolff. Color corrected by Pat C…

First Court of Temple of Ramses III, Medinet Aboo

Artist Edwin Howland Blashfield (American, 1848-1936)

Date1887

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 35 3/4 x 25 5/8 in. (90.8 x 65.1 cm)
Overall, Frame: 43 1/8 x 33 1/8 in. (109.5 x 84.1 cm)

ClassificationsAmerican art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.834

Terms

Egypt
Statues
Ruins
Tan
Brown
White
Blue
Red
Egypt

On View

On view

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting. It is a view of Egyptian ruins, depicting three large statues and a couple of human figures in the foreground. It is predominantly tan in color; a small corner of the blue sky is visible at the top, left of center.

Label TextEdwin H. Blashfield American, 1848-1936 First Court of Temple of Ramses III, Medinet Aboo, 1887 Oil on canvas The clearly inscribed title carefully identifies this scene as an Egyptian tomb located on the banks of the Nile near the ancient city of Thebes. The massive, partially-ruined statues representing Osiris, the god of the dead, tower over the modern Egyptians below. While Blashfield has painstakingly recorded the details of the architecture, sculpture, and hieroglyphic carving, the crumbling stone forms blend into the unfinished composition at the edges of the canvas and create a scene both archaeological and romantic. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.834