Name of Object:

The Ruins of the Temple of the Sun at Baalbec

Location:

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Sharjah)

Holding Institution:

Sharjah Art Museum / Sharjah Museums Authority

 About Sharjah Museums Authority, Sharjah

Date of Object:

1861

Author:

David Roberts (24/10/1796, Edinburgh, Scotland-25/11/1864, London)

Inventory Number:

SM 2006 - 1541

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

1300 mm x 2300 mm

Provenance:

Probably London

Description:

This dramatic view looks across the great court of the temple complex in Baalbek. In the ancient world Baalbek, to the east of Beirut in Lebanon, was a great centre of trade between Europe and Asias, and home to a religion of sun worship. The Scottish artist David Roberts visited in 1839 and over the following years made many images of the still imposing ruins. This painting is Roberts's last of Baalbek, and he considered it as 'a grand finale' to his career as a painter of the Middle East. The complex's imposing architectural and artistic details also inspired European Neoclassical architects and artists such as Robert Adam. Since about 1864 many tourists visited the famed site, including, in 1898, the German emperor Wilhelm II on his way to Jerusalem. Struck by the magnificence of the ruins, he dispatched a German archaeological team, whose subsequent work resulted in a meticulously presented and illustrated publication that further raised interest in Baalbek.

Citation of this web page:

Ulrike al-Khamis "The Ruins of the Temple of the Sun at Baalbec" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2025.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;ua;8;en

Prepared by: Ulrike Al-Khamis

MWNF Working Number: UA 008