A view of the river Nile near Qena, Egypt

Born into a family of artists, Gabriele Carelli was the son of the landscape painter Raffaele Carelli. The artist was an avid traveller and after spending some time sojourning in his home country, he paid a first visited to England in 1847. There he was introduced to the 6th Duke of Devonshire (1790-1858), who became his patron. Gabriele could count on the Duke's hospitality at Chatsworth, Devonshire House and Chiswick House. In the 1850s the artist went back to his native Naples but eventually returned and settled in England. From the 1880s until the end of his career he was to enjoy the patronage of Queen Victoria. The artist continued travelling throughout his career, visiting countries in the Near East and North Africa. During these trips Carelli recorded the landscapes and cities he saw in delicate watercolours, of which this is a fine and typical example. These works were hugely popular with collectors and connoisseurs in England where he exhibited them at the Graves and Dudley Galleries and the Royal Academy of which he became a member in 1874. A larger version of this view, with some differences, was sold at Christie's, London, 29 November 1984, lot 187.