Oração da Noite Perto dos Colossos de Mêmnon, Egito (The Evening Prayer Near the Colossi of Memnon) - Friedrich Perlberg
Egito
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OST - 38x76
Perlberg visited Egypt in 1896, he made the painting after his
return in Munich.
Perlberg is a well-known artist among collectors of postcards!
Many of his watercolours were printed in those days as colour postcards.
The Colossi of Memnon stand on the West bank of the Nile,
across the ancient capital of Thebes (present-day Luxor).
These two giant stone sculptures, dating from the 14th century
BC, on the West bank of the Nile are all that remains from a huge mortuary
temple of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Each measures 18m high.
On the East bank, that is the other side of the Nile, stood the
capital Thebes (today Luxor), the West bank (our side) was reserved to the
dead, with tombs (Valley of the Kings, Queens and the Nobles) and mortuary
temples (such as the Ramesseum).
Amenhotep III (also known as Amenophis III) belonged to the
18th dynasty. He reigned Egypt from circa 1386 to circa 1349 BC. His reign was
of an unprecedented prosperity and artistic splendour. He was succeeded by his
son Amenhotep IV, who changed his name into Akhenaten (Akhenaton or Echnaton).
Tutankhamun reigned a bit later, circa 1332 -1323 BC.
The position of the mortuary temple was chosen wrongly, as it
stood too close to the floodplain of the river Nile. Within 200 years it fell
in ruins and it was used as a quarry by later pharaohs.
These seriously damaged twin statues that stood at the entrance
gate of the temple represent the pharaoh in a seated position, with his hands
resting on his knees. He is wearing the Nemes (klaft), that striped headcloth,
that one also knows from the masque of Tutankhamum or from the Sphinx at Giza.
As to Memnon, that is the name of a hero from the Trojan War,
killed by Achilles. Due to a crack that appeared in one of the statues (the
Northern one, that is the right one, which in our painting stands to the left),
following the 27 BC earthquake, that statue was said to “sing” at sunrise. As
Memnon’s mother was said to be Eos, the Greek goddess of dawn, the story arose
that the statue was mourning Memnon’s death.
Several Roman authors mentioned this miraculous “whistling” and
the statues attracted already in those days tourists and believers (because of
its oracular powers), among them several Roman emperors (the best-known
visitors were emperor Hadrian and Antinous in 130 AD). Circa 199 AD the statue
was partly restored and it stopped singing.
At left nomads, who have made camp for the night, are making
their evening prayer (“Maghrib”), that is the fourth of the five daily prayers
in Islam.
This painting must date from 1896 or shortly after, as our
painter visited Egypt in that year. It was painted in Munich (München in
German) after his return.
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