Nubian women at Kortie, on the Nile. 1846 - 1849

David Roberts made this lithograph titled 'Nubian women at Kortie, on the Nile'. It would have been made by drawing on a flat stone surface with a greasy crayon, then wetting the stone and applying ink, which would adhere only to the greasy areas. The resulting image captures a vivid scene, but consider the circumstances of its creation. Roberts, a Scottish artist, traveled to Egypt and other parts of the Middle East. He carefully sketched the scenes before bringing them back to Europe. He worked with Louis Haghe, a master lithographer, to reproduce them on paper. There's a tension here. While Roberts aimed for authenticity, the final product resulted from a complex, collaborative process, mediated by European printmaking technology. It was also intended for consumption by a European audience, eager for romanticized visions of faraway lands. This print, therefore, is not a straightforward depiction of reality. It is the result of a complex process involving both observation and translation, shaped by the social and cultural contexts of its time. This challenges our understanding of the image and encourages us to think critically about its creation.