Petra - Edward Lear
Archival giclée
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Description
A detailed topographical watercolour by Edward Lear, capturing the dramatic sandstone cliffs and arid terrain of the ancient city of Petra.
Edward Lear, primarily known for his nonsense verse, was also a highly skilled topographical draughtsman and painter. During his extensive travels through the Middle East in the mid-nineteenth century, he produced a series of detailed watercolours documenting the ancient city of Petra. This work captures the dramatic geological formations of the Jordanian desert, where the sandstone cliffs dominate the composition with their warm, ochre tones. Lear employed a precise technique, using fine pen-and-ink outlines beneath his watercolour washes to define the craggy textures of the rock face and the sparse vegetation. The composition draws the eye through the narrow valley, following the path of the wadi as it winds towards the distant, carved facades of the ancient Nabataean structures. His approach to light is characteristic of his later period, where he sought to capture the specific atmospheric conditions of the desert, balancing the harsh glare of the sun against the cooler shadows cast within the deep crevices of the canyon. Unlike many of his contemporaries who romanticised such sites with exaggerated figures or dramatic weather, Lear maintained a focus on the physical reality of the terrain. He recorded the scale of the environment with accuracy, providing a clear sense of the isolation and grandeur of the location. The palette remains grounded in earth pigments, reflecting the natural hues of the sandstone and the dry, arid environment. This print offers a view into the meticulous observation that defined Lear's professional career as a travel artist, documenting regions that were then largely inaccessible to the British public.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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We ship worldwide, printing at the production hub nearest to your delivery address. Delivery times and costs vary by destination — you'll see the options available to you at checkout.
Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Petra - Edward Lear
Our Features
Designed for Lasting Impact
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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Artist Biography
Edward Lear
His landscape career ran simultaneously. From the 1840s he made extended sketching tours through Italy, Albania, Greece, Egypt, Palestine, India, and Ceylon, producing illustrated travel journals of careful documentary precision. In 1846 Queen Victoria sought him out as a drawing teacher, having admired his Italian lithographs; he gave her twelve lessons. Brief study under William Holman Hunt in 1852 introduced Pre-Raphaelite rigour to his oils, though his watercolours and pen-and-ink drawings remain his most direct legacy.
Lear suffered from epilepsy throughout his life, calling it the Demon and concealing it carefully from a society ill-equipped to understand it. He was severely shortsighted from childhood and lived with considerable loneliness, despite the warmth of his nonsense verse. He settled in San Remo in 1871, eventually naming his house Villa Tennyson after his close friend Alfred, Lord Tennyson, for whom he composed settings of 212 poems.
His cat, Foss, was his companion for 15 years. When Lear moved to a larger house in San Remo, he had it built to identical proportions so Foss would not be disoriented. Foss died two months before Lear, in January 1888. The Owl and the Pussycat (1871), containing the word runcible spoon, now in everyday English use, is his most enduring poem.
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