Ascent on the Balkan mountains

Description

Featured in the 1836 collaborative work of Thomas Allom and Robert Walsh, this steel engraving depicts a challenging ascent towards the steep peaks of the Balkan Mountains. While massively rising rock masses and cliffside paths dominate the landscape on the right side of the composition; caravans trying to cross this dangerous pass with pack animals in the midground, and travelers in local attire in the foreground are illustrated. While revealing the wild topography of the Roumelian geography in the 19th century, the artwork also aesthetically documents the vital and continuous travel routes connecting the empire's European territories.