On This Dome is a Brazen Horseman, Mounted on a Brazen Horse, from 'The Story of the Third Kalandar' in "The Arabian Nights"

Edward Julius Detmold British

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A shipwrecked king gazes through mist at a magical brass sculpture atop a pavilion. The related "Arabian Nights" tale recounts how Agib, son of King Casib, loses his vessel when its nails are pulled out by the magnetic power of the infamous Black Mountain. Waking unharmed, the king prepares to scale the peak and shoot down the statue, which will cause the sea to rise over the dangerous peak. Subsequent adventures bring Agib great happiness, followed by loss when he cannot resist temptation. Finally he becomes a Sufi dervish (or kalandar) and tells his story. Detmold manipulates colors and softens the focus to create a surreal atmosphere that relies upon the tradition of fantastic imagery developed in England by the Pre-Raphaelites and the Victorian watercolorists.

On This Dome is a Brazen Horseman, Mounted on a Brazen Horse, from 'The Story of the Third Kalandar' in "The Arabian Nights", Edward Julius Detmold (British, London 1883–1957 Montgomery, Wales), Watercolor

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