Pompey’s Pillar, Alexandria. 1846 - 1849

David Roberts rendered this watercolor of Pompey’s Pillar in Alexandria sometime in the 19th century. The Pillar, a symbol of Roman triumph and imperial power, stands alone, crowned with acanthus leaves, reaching heavenward. The column, as an isolated form, carries echoes of ancient obelisks, those Egyptian symbols of the sun god Ra, transplanted by Roman emperors to declare their dominion. Think of the Vatican obelisk, still standing, a silent witness to centuries of shifting power. Here, the lonely pillar evokes a sense of grandeur tempered by isolation, a motif that echoes through history, recurring in Renaissance paintings, where ruins serve as memento mori, and even in modern photography, where abandoned structures speak of lost dreams. The column is not merely stone, but a vessel laden with collective memory, its shadow stretching across the sands of time.