King Abdulaziz Public Library unveils190-year-old book

Riyadh, The Gulf Observer: King Abdulaziz Public Library in Riyadh has unveiled a 190-year-old book by British artist David Roberts.

The work, of which only 30 copies were made, contains paintings drawn by Roberts in Andalusia in 1832-1833 depicting a number of famous landmarks he visited in Spain.

Roberts used natural colors in the book’s 26 lithograph-printed and hand-colored paintings.

Most of the painting are devoted to Arab-Islamic monuments and palaces in Andalusia, as the book offers splendid and beautiful images of Granada and the Alhambra Palace and the fine details of Islamic architectural inscriptions.

The leather-bound book’s pages are between 38 an 53 cm in size, whereas the spine bears a gilded title and decorations with words printed in black. The covers have geometric drawings, in addition to gilded and polished edges.

The Library acquired the book in 1997 when it obtained it from the library of King Don Carlos I of Portugal.

David Roberts, who lived between 1796 and 1864, was considered one of the most prominent British painters in the 19th century and was one of the few who worked in this art form during his time.

His style of painting was easy to recognize as lithography was the only method during that time to produce accurate, true-to-life images.

Roberts was a scene painter at the Theater Royal in Edinburgh, and produced a group of oil paintings that included scenes from England, Scotland, France, and Belgium.

He toured Egypt and Syria and published a six-volume book, three of which were drawings in Egypt, and three were paintings in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan.