After a brief career as a housepainter in Perth, David Roberts the son of a cobbler began work in 1816 as a scenery painter with Mr Bannister’s Touring Circus and Theatrical Company. He later went on to become one of the most celebrated topographical artists of his time, renowned for his dramatic views of Egypt and the Near East.

At the start of his career in 1824, Roberts exhibited for the first time at the British Institution in London. That same year, he helped found the Society of British Artists and began travelling throughout Europe. During his travels he made numerous drawings during a trip to Spain, a little-known country in Britain. These early views were published later as Roberts’s fame ascended and demonstrate the early intimations of a great artist, one whom would set a standard for topographical illustration that remains unchallenged to this day.