'The Nile near Kom Ombo', Karl Weschke

Artwork details

Artist

Karl Weschke (1925‑2005)

Title

The Nile near Kom Ombo

Date 1994

MediumOil paint and charcoal on canvas

Dimensionsunconfirmed: 1420 x 1780 mm

Collection

Tate

Acquisition Purchased 1994

Reference

T06901

Not on display

Display caption

Weschke went to Egypt, on an organised tour, in 1990 and again in 1992. His work already showed his fascination with the notion of immensity, and the powerful effect on him of the ancient sites was inevitable. He travelled south from Cairo to Aswan, by way of Giza and the Valley of Kings at Luxor. Kom Ombo is on the eastern bank of the Nile north of Aswan. While awed by the antiquity of such things as the unfinished obelisk near Aswan, the artist was also powerfully affected by the landscape. Here, the spare painting style emphasises the vastness of the desert that towers over the figures and camels on the riverbank.

August 2004