This month we feature a watercolour by Robert Talbot Kelly (1861 – 1934), an artist known for his works painted in North Africa. The work, a watercolour on paper, is entitled The Pylon of the Great Temple of Karnak, Upper Egypt, signed by the artist and dated 1906.

About the artist

Robert Talbot Kelly was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire. His father was Robert George Kelly, an Irish landscape and portrait painter, so the young Robert is likely to have received his artistic education directly from his father. He did not become a fully-fledged artist straight away – his first career was as a cotton-trader. However, after a cruise holiday, he was inspired to give up his day job and become an artist. He travelled to Egypt where he established a studio in 1883. He travelled all over Egypt, recording life there in both paintings and in writing.

It is worth mentioning that Egypt came under the occupation of Britain in 1882, following the Anglo-Egyptian war, a conflict probably initiated by the British to protect their investments in Egypt and for political popularity. Perhaps this timing had a bearing on the date Talbot Kelly decided to base himself in Egypt.

Talbot Kelly clearly had the travel bug as he also visited Iceland and he wrote and illustrated two books about Burma after visiting that country.

He maintained links with the UK throughout his travels abroad and he returned to live in the UK in 1915, where he continued his artistic career.

Robert Talbot Kelly was principally a watercolourist. He was a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, Royal Society of British Artists and Royal British Colonial Society of Artists. He exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer exhibition in 1906, 1913 and 1915.

Talbot Kelly was just one in four generations of artists; as mentioned above, his father was an artist. His son Richard Barrett Talbot Kelly was also an artist, specialising in ornithological subjects, as is his grand-daughter Chloe Talbot Kelly .

Orientalism

Talbot-Kelly is described as an ‘orientalist’ artist. In an artistic context, this term refers to Western artists who depicted or were influenced by the Eastern world, particularly the Near Middle East and North Africa. Some orientalist artists actually travelled to the countries they depicted but others envisioned the Orient from the comfort of their studios in Europe. Such artists often portrayed the way of life in these countries from a Westerner’s colonial perspective, representing people as exotic ‘natives’ in far-off lands.

Historical Tourism in Egypt

In his article ‘The development of British tourism in Egypt, 1815 to 1850’, Martin Anderson notes that tourism was encouraged by the Egyptians in the 19th century as it bolstered their economy. Europeans wrote favourably about their travel experiences in Egypt in books and guidebooks, encouraging more people to visit and by the 1830s Egypt was starting to create infrastructure such as roads and hotels to accommodate the increasing number of European tourists. Starting in the 1800s there was also a mania for Egyptology.

From the 19th century, Ancient Egyptian designs influenced art, design and architecture in the West. There was a genuine interest in all things Egyptian from Europeans and Americans and it seems that Talbot Kelly fell into this category – he was interested in both contemporary and ancient Egypt.

The Pylon at Karnak

Our painting depicts one of the pylons at the Karnak Temple Complex near Luxor in Egypt. Pylons, in the context of Ancient Egypt, were stone towers often built on either side of doors to temples with a lintel joining them above the doors. They were often constructed in a foreshortened pyramid shape and were decorated with carvings and paintings. There are ten sets of pylons at Karnak, connected by a series of walls.

Karnak forms part of the ancient city of Thebes. Construction on his complex started around 2000 – 1700 BC and continued until just after 300 BC. It consists of temples, chapels, pylons and other buildings including a breathtaking hall in which stand over 100 massive pillars of which the tallest are 21 metres high.

Find out more

Find out more about Robert Talbot Kelly here.

Find out more about orientalist art here.

Acknowledgements

Martin Anderson, Journal of Tourism History, Volume 4, 2012 - Issue 3 'The development of British tourism in Egypt, 1815 to 1850', Published Online: 14 Sep 2012.

The Talbot Kelly Creative Lineage website.