A Caravan in the Desert (c. 1860s): Art, History and Details

A Caravan in the Desert (c. 1860s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Narcisse Berchère (French, 1819–1891).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This drawing is one of many in which Narcisse Berchère depicted the desert landscape of Egypt—which France had attempted to colonize just a few decades before. Here, a party of travelers walks through a flat and expansive space accompanied by camels. After studying in Paris, Berchère made his first of several trips to North Africa, which served as inspiration for much of his work.

Object facts

• Title: A Caravan in the Desert
• Date: c. 1860s
• Creator attribution: Narcisse Berchère (French, 1819–1891)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: watercolor on wove paper
• Dimensions: Sheet: 19.3 x 31 cm (7 5/8 x 12 3/16 in.)
• Collection: DR - French
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 2019.61

A detail from the museum

In addition to making numerous watercolors depicting Egypt, Narcisse Berchère published a book about his travels there.

Collection credit

Bequest of Muriel Butkin

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.