Edward Lear

Made during Lear’s second trip to Egypt, this drawing depicts Philae, an island on the Nile where Lear remained for ten days. In his diary, he referred to Philae as a “fairy island,” and described the colors as brilliant, delicate, and mournful. Much later, during his third trip to Egypt, he wrote in his diary, “In no place—it seems to me, can the variety & simplicity of colors be so well studied as in Egypt; in no place are the various beauties of shadow more observable, or more interminably numerous.” His color notes on this drawing are particularly extensive, indicating something of the challenge he found in capturing Nile scenery.