Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare by email
Contact Exhibitor| Artist Name | David Roberts, R.A. (1796-1864) |
|---|---|
| Title | View of Tetouan from the Terrace of Cohen's House, Morocco |
| Date of Artwork | 1833 |
| Medium | Watercolour over pencil heightened with bodycolour on two sheets of joined grey paper |
| Size | 9 1/8 x 26 3/4 in. • 230 x 679 mm |
| Signed | Signed lower left: D. Roberts and inscribed lower centre: Tituan from the Terrace of Cohen's house in the/Jews town april 10th 1833 |
| Estimated Value | $100,000 |
Provenance
The Artist's studio sale, Christie's, 15th May 1865, lot 350;
Anonymous sale, Christie's, 25th January 1902, lot 90;
Mrs Viola Bicknell;
Anonymous sale, Christie's, 17th June 1969, lot 170, bt. Agnew's;
Private Collection, circa 1971 until 2019
Anonymous sale, Christie's, 25th January 1902, lot 90;
Mrs Viola Bicknell;
Anonymous sale, Christie's, 17th June 1969, lot 170, bt. Agnew's;
Private Collection, circa 1971 until 2019
Literature
Katharine Sim, David Roberts, R.A. (1796-1864) – A Biography, 1984, p.86</p
Exhibition History
London, Architectural Association, 9 Conduit Street, A Collection of Pictures, Drawings, Sketches, & Etchings by David Roberts RA, 1865, no.616</p
Further Information
This on-the-spot sketch is a rare work from Roberts's first foray outside Europe, to Morocco in March and April 1833. Leaving London in October 1832, he reached Madrid in December and travelled on to Cordoba, Granada, Malaga, Ronda and crossed to Tangiers from Gibraltar in March 1833. He wrote to his friend David Ramsay Hay at the end of March from Tangiers that he was `indeed in a New World' and that `Yesterday was Market day - only fancy an African Market - I am so bewildered I cannot trust myself to write about it, only rely upon it I am not idle..' (letter to Hay, 29th March 1833, National Library of Scotland).
Tetouan lies about 35 miles south-east of Tangiers at the foot of the Rif Mountain and the journey took Roberts through beautiful countryside. Having reached Tetouan, he got into trouble for not announcing his visit in advance as Christians were supposed to do. He was rescued by his host Mr Cohen who acted as his interpreter and guide during his eight days in Tetouan. Four views of Tetouan after Roberts were engraved for Thomas Roscoe's `Spain and Morocco' published in 1838. A watercolour preparatory to an engraving, `Tetuan: The Great Square', is in the Wallace Collection, London.
Tetouan lies about 35 miles south-east of Tangiers at the foot of the Rif Mountain and the journey took Roberts through beautiful countryside. Having reached Tetouan, he got into trouble for not announcing his visit in advance as Christians were supposed to do. He was rescued by his host Mr Cohen who acted as his interpreter and guide during his eight days in Tetouan. Four views of Tetouan after Roberts were engraved for Thomas Roscoe's `Spain and Morocco' published in 1838. A watercolour preparatory to an engraving, `Tetuan: The Great Square', is in the Wallace Collection, London.