David Roberts (Parents: John Roberts, a shoemaker, and Christian Ritchie; Spouse: Margaret McLachlan; Daughter: Christine) was a highly celebrated Scottish painter and lithographer, best known for his monumental and historically invaluable series of detailed lithographs of Egypt and the Near East. He was a pioneering figure in the Orientalist movement, bringing the majestic architecture of the ancient world to the British public.
Born in poverty to a shoemaker in Edinburgh, Roberts began his career as an apprentice to a house painter. He soon transitioned into theatrical scene painting, working for touring circuses and eventually prestigious theaters in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and later London (including Covent Garden and Drury Lane). This theatrical background profoundly influenced his later artistic style, giving him an extraordinary grasp of monumental scale, dramatic lighting, and architectural perspective.
By 1830, he was a full-time fine artist and began traveling extensively. After finding success with his depictions of Moorish architecture in Spain, he embarked on the defining journey of his life in 1838. He spent nearly a year traveling through Egypt, Nubia, the Sinai Peninsula, Idumea (Petra), Jordan, and the Holy Land. Working under difficult conditions, he produced hundreds of highly detailed sketches and watercolors of temples, monuments, and landscapes, many of which had never been accurately recorded by a Western artist.
Upon his return to Britain, Roberts collaborated with lithographer Louis Haghe to reproduce these sketches into a monumental, multi-volume folio set: The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia (published 1842–1849). The publication was a massive financial and critical success, securing his legacy and making his imagery the definitive visual record of the Middle East for Victorian society.
Elected as a full Royal Academician in 1841, Roberts spent his later years painting scenes of Italy, particularly Venice, and London. He died suddenly of an apoplectic stroke in London in 1864 while working on a painting of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Active in others filds : Theatrical Scene Painting.
