Two Camels

ca. 1843

Not on view

Lewis sketched these camels draped in colorful, decorative trappings during a visit to the Sinai. The evocative study typifies the artist’s carefully detailed work in Egypt between 1841 and 1851, years during which he produced hundreds of drawings. Once back in England, Lewis used the studies to develop evocations of life in Egypt, Syria and Turkey in watercolor and oil, works that profoundly influenced British conceptions of that region. At least two later desert subjects rely on the present sheet.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

References

Title: Two Camels
Artist: John Frederick Lewis (British, London 1804–1876 Walton-on-Thames)
Date: ca. 1843
Medium: Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over black chalk on brownish paper
Dimensions: sheet: 14 5/8 x 20 5/8 in. (37.1 x 52.4 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Anonymous Gift, 1961
Object Number: 61.218.1
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By John Frederick Lewis

In the same medium

From the same time and place

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

Iskander Bey and His Servant, John Frederick Lewis British, Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over graphite — Iskander Bey and His Servant
John Frederick Lewis
Iskandar Bey (Mohamed el Mahdy)
ca. 1848

Arab School, John Frederick Lewis British, Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over black chalk on brownish paper — Arab School
John Frederick Lewis
1841–51

Study for "The Pipe Bearer", John Frederick Lewis British, Watercolor, gouache (bodycolor) and black chalk on gray paper — Study for "The Pipe Bearer"
John Frederick Lewis
1841–51

The Lake of Zug, Joseph Mallord William Turner British, Watercolor and bodycolor (gouache) with reductive techniques over graphite — The Lake of Zug
Joseph Mallord William Turner
1843

The Entombment, Sir Edward Burne-Jones British, Green, blue, brown and touches of reddish bodycolor, heightened with white gouache (bodycolor) on green paper — The Entombment
Sir Edward Burne-Jones
1879

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.