Alberto Pasini (1826–1899) – Tombs Of The Caliphs, Cairo – Pencil On Paper, Circa 1860/70

Alberto Pasini (Busseto 1826 – Turin 1899)
Drawing: Tombe dei Califfi, circa 1860/70
Pencil on paper, 40.5 × 12.5 cm, signed lower right
Condition: good. The paper is laid down on canvas and mounted on a recently made stretcher.

Important Orientalist drawing executed by Alberto Pasini circa 1860/70, depicting a wide architectural view of the Middle East, identifiable as the celebrated “Tombe dei Califfi” in Cairo.

The composition, developed in an horizontal format, emphasizes the breadth of the landscape and the monumentality of the Islamic architecture, characterized by large hemispherical domes and slender minarets. In the foreground, small figures with camels animate the scene and, by contrast, enhance the grandeur of the buildings.

The pencil work is precise, analytical, and technically refined: Pasini demonstrates remarkable attention to architectural detail and perspective construction.