22 Artists Embedded With Napoleon's French Campaign In Egypt And Syria - Part I

Rumors became rife as 40,000 soldiers and 10,000 sailors were gathered in French Mediterranean ports. A large fleet was assembled at Toulon: 13 ships of the line, 14 frigates, and 400 transports. To avoid interception by the British fleet under Nelson, the expedition's target was kept secret. It was known only to Bonaparte himself, his generals.
Pierre Martinet (1781-?)
Boarding of the French army in Toulon to Egypt
Left: Bonaparte and his generals. 1798.

MARTINET, Pierre (born 1781). French Painter. Military subjects, scenes with figures. A student of Jacques Swebach, he submitted works to the Paris Salon from 1808 to 1812. He painted battle scenes and popular or fashionable subjects, treated in a lively way but also sometimes with a degree of confusion. More on MARTINET, Pierre

On 19 May. Bonaparte's fleet embarked, from Toulon headed for Malta.  When the fleet arrived off Malta, Napoleon demanded that the Knights of Malta allow his fleet to enter the port and take on water and supplies. The island of Malta was an important strategic stronghold in the Mediterraenean Sea and Napoleon Bonaparte knew that controlling it would boost France's naval capacity in the region, particularly with the British Mediterranean Fleet under Admiral Horatio Nelson anchored in nearby Sicily.

The invading French fleet at Malta, 1798
I have no further description, at this time

Grand Master von Hompesch replied that only two foreign ships would be allowed to enter the port at a time. Under that restriction, revictualling the French fleet would take weeks, and it would be vulnerable to the British fleet of Admiral Nelson. Napoleon therefore ordered the invasion of Malta.

The French Revolution had significantly reduced the Knights of Malta's income and their ability to put up serious resistance. Half of the Knights were French, and most of these knights refused to fight.

Charles Etienne Pierre Motte (1785 - 1836)
Debarquement a l'Ile de Malte (Bonaparte landing on Malta)
Hand-coloured.; Medium includes gum arabic.
Lithograph, coloured
399 mm x 517 mm
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

Charles Motte obtained his patent allowing him to exercise the profession of lithographer printer on October 31, 1817 1 . He is also one of the first printers to have obtained it, this measure having been implemented that same year.

In 1827, he persuaded the young Eugène Delacroix to illustrate the first French edition of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 's Faust , himself taking on the task of lithographing the plates and coloring them in watercolour .

He lithographed drawings by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse (1784-1844) (portraits of Jean-Jacques Rousseau , Napoleon, etc.), Victor-Jean Adam ( Advent of the Empire ), Ludwig Rullmann (portraits of Maurice de Nassau and Maurice of Saxony ), Hippolyte Bellangé ("  Entry of the French into Milan  "), Achille Devéria (1800-1857), Edmond Savouré ("  View of Saumur in 1836  "), Henry Monnier , by Louis Stanislas Marin-Lavigne , etc.

The lithographic workshop of Motte collaborated in the printing of the Egyptian Grammar of Champollion . He died in Paris onDecember 5, 1836, shortly after the printing of the first part.

Céleste Devéria took over from her father and was certified as a lithographer printer on December 14, 1837. More on Charles Motte

French troops disembarked in Malta at seven points on the morning of 11 June. Gen. Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers landed soldiers and cannon in the western part of the main island of Malta, under artillery fire from Maltese fortifications. The French troops met some initial resistance but pressed forward. The Knights' ill-prepared force in that region, numbering only about 2,000, regrouped. The French pressed on with their attack. After a fierce gun battle lasting twenty-four hours, most of the Knights' force in the west surrendered.


Sir William Quiller Orchardson 1832–1910
Napoleon on Board the Bellerophon 1880
Oil paint on canvas
1651 x 2489 mm
Tate

Edinburgh-born William Quiller Orchardson entered the Trustees’ Academy in 1845, aged thirteen. He was immediately noted for his talent and his independence, as he allegedly refused to adhere to the custom of drawing classical statues and instead preferred to work from real-life models. He stayed on as a mature student until 1855 – the year the painter of this sketch-like portrait, his friend John Pettie, joined the Academy. In 1862, Orchardson, Pettie and Tom Graham moved to London, where they shared a home. Soon, Orchardson became a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy and his reputation was quickly established. A kind and sociable man, he became famous for his cleverly observed genre scenes of high society, often characterised by their subtle storytelling and psychological realism. More on William Quiller Orchardson

Napoleon then opened negotiations. Faced with vastly superior French forces and the loss of western Malta, von Hompesch surrendered the main fortress of Valletta.

Capture of Malta by General Bonaparte, commanding the French fleet, June 12, 1798.

Thirteen days after leaving Malta and continuing to successfully elude detection by the Royal Navy for the time being, the fleet was in sight of Alexandria, where it landed on 1 July, though his plan had been to land elsewhere. 


Guillaume-François Colson (1785–1850)
Feeder Napoleon In Alexandria On 3 July 1798 His grace towards an Arab family, c. 1812
Oil on canvas
365 × 500 cm (143.7 × 196.9 in)
National Museum of Versailles

Guillaume François Colson, a French historical painter, and pupil of David, was born in Paris in 1785, and died there in 1860.

Among other works, he painted the 'Entry of General Bonaparte into Alexandria,' which is at Versailles.

He also painted various family portraits and scenes of the upper classes in his idle moments, which could be seen as forerunners to artists such as Boudin and the Impressionists who were working decades later. More on Guillaume François Colson

Bonaparte left Alexandria on 6 July. General Dugua marched on Rosetta, with orders to seize and hold the entrance to the port housing the French fleet, which had to follow the route to Cairo down the river's left bank and rejoin the army at Rahmanié. On 8 July, Bonaparte arrived at Demenhour, where he found the forces had met up, and awaited the fleet with their provisions. The fleet arrived on 12 July and the army began to march again at night, followed by the fleet.

Sudden heavy winds forced the fleet to the army's left and straight into the enemy fleet, which was supported by musket fire from 4,000 Mamluks, reinforced by peasants and Arabs. The French fleet had numerical superiority but still lost its gunboats to the enemy. Attracted by the sound of gunfire, Bonaparte ordered his land force to the charge and attacked the village of Chebreiss, which was captured after two hours of fierce fighting. The enemy fled in disorder towards Cairo, leaving 600 dead on the battlefield.

Louis-François Baron Lejeune 001.jpg
Louis-François, Baron Lejeune (1775–1848)
The Battle of the Pyramids, 1808
Oil on canvas
National Museum of Versailles

Louis-François, Baron Lejeune, (born February 3, 1775, probably at Strasbourg, France—died February 29, 1848, Toulouse), military general, painter, and lithographer who was chiefly responsible for introducing lithography to France as an artistic medium.

Lejeune took part in many of the Napoleonic campaigns, and his vigorous battle pictures, executed mainly from sketches and studies made in the field, enjoyed a great vogue. The campaign of 1806 took him to Munich, where he visited the workshop of Alois Senefelder, inventor of lithography. Fascinated, Lejeune drew on the stone his famous Cosaque and immediately pulled 100 proofs of it, one of which he later submitted to Napoleon.

Lejeune also painted many landscapes and portraits. In 1837 he became director of the École des Beaux-Arts and curator of the museum at Toulouse. More on Louis-François, Baron Lejeune

After a day's rest at Chebreiss, the French land force continued the pursuit. On 20 July, it arrived half a mile from the village of Embabé. There Bonaparte drew up his 25,000 troops for battle approximately nine miles (15 km) from the Pyramids of Giza. 

Wojciech Kossak (1857–1942)
Battle of the Pyramids
Date 1896
Oil on canvas
70 × 105 cm (27.6 × 41.3 in)
Current location
National Museum in Warsaw

Wojciech Horacy Kossak (31 December 1856 – 29 July 1942) was a noted Polish painter and member of the celebrated Kossak family of artists and writers. He was the son of painter Juliusz Kossak, and twin brother of freedom fighter Tadeusz Kossak, and the father of two highly talented literary daughters, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska and Magdalena Samozwaniec and of a painter son, Jerzy Kossak.

Wojciech Horacy Kossak was born in Paris on New Year's Eve of 1856 just before midnight, while his twin brother, Tadeusz Kossak, just after, on 1 January 1857. The family eventually left France. His middle name was in honour of his godfather, French painter Horace Vernet. Kossak began his education upon his family's return to Poland. He attended the Three Crosses Square Gymnasium in Warsaw and later the Gimnazjum św. Anny in Kraków. He simultaneously studied painting with his father Juliusz.

Between 1871–1873, Wojciech studied at the Kraków School of Drawing and Painting (later School of Fine Arts) - under Władysław Łuszczkiewicz, followed by a stint until 1875 at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, with professors Alexander Strähuber and Alexander Wagner. More on Wojciech Horacy Kossak

This was the start of the so-called Battle of the Pyramids, also known as the Battle of Embabeh, a French victory over an enemy force of about 21,000 Mamluks. The French defeated the Mamluk cavalry with a giant infantry square, with cannons and supplies safely on the inside. In all 300 French and approximately 6,000 Egyptians were killed. The battle gave rise to dozens of stories and drawings.

Francois-Louis-Joseph Watteau (1758–1823)
The Battle of the Pyramids
c. 1798-1799
Oil on canvas
94 × 120.4 cm (37 × 47.4 in)
Museum of Fine Arts, Valenciennes

François Louis Joseph Watteau (18 August 1758, Lille – 1 December 1823, Lille), known like his father as the Watteau of Lille, was a French painter, active in his birthplace. From 1808 to his death he was deputy curator of the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, which his father had helped to found. More on François Louis Joseph Watteau

Antoine-Jean Gros (1771–1835)
Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798, c. 1810
Oil on canvas
389 x 311 cm
National Museum of Versailles

Antoine-Jean Gros (16 March 1771 – 25 June 1835) was a French painter of historical subjects. He was given title of Baron Gros in 1824.

Gros studied under Jacques-Louis David in Paris and began an independent artistic career during the French Revolution. Forced to leave France, Gros moved to Genoa. His portrait of the French commander Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Arcole (1796) brought Gros to public attention and gained the patronage of Napoleon.

After traveling with Napoleon's army for several years, he returned to Paris in 1799. In addition to producing several large paintings of battles and other events in Napoleon's life, Gros was a successful portraitist. More on Antoine-Jean Gros

Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904)
Before the Sphinx  1867-1868
Oil on canvas
Hearst Castle

Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits, and other subjects, bringing the academic painting tradition to an artistic climax. He is considered one of the most important painters from this academic period. He was also a teacher with a long list of students. More on Jean-Léon Gérôme

On 22 July, the notables of Cairo came to Giza to meet Bonaparte and offered to hand over the city to him. Three days later, he moved his main headquarters there. 

Léon Cogniet (1794–1880)
The 1798 Egyptian Expedition Under the Command of Bonaparte, Date 1835
Oil on canvas
Ceiling at the Musée du Louvre

Léon Cogniet (29 August 1794, Paris – 20 November 1880, Paris) was a French history and portrait painter. He is probably best remembered as a teacher, with over one hundred well-known students. 

He was born in Paris. His father was a painter and wallpaper designer. In 1812, he enrolled at the École des Beaux-arts, where he studied with Pierre-Narcisse Guérin. He also worked in the studios of Jean-Victor Bertin. After failing an attempt to win the Prix de Rome in 1816, he won the following year with his depiction of Helen Rescued by Castor and Pollux and received a stipend to study at the French Academy in Rome until 1822. Before leaving, he had his first exhibition at the Salon.

In 1827, he created a series of murals on the life of Saint Stephen for the church of Saint-Nicholas-des-Champs. From 1833 to 1835, he painted a scene from Napoleon's expedition to Egypt on one of the ceilings at the Louvre. Between 1840 and 1860, he operated a popular painting workshop for women, directed by his sister Marie Amélie and one of his students, Catherine Caroline Thévenin (1813–1892), who later became his wife. After 1843, he concentrated almost entirely on teaching, with an occasional portrait. After 1855, he essentially gave up painting.

After 1831, he taught design at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. He also taught at the École polytechnique from 1847 to 1861. In 1851, he was appointed a Professor at the École des Beaux-arts, a position he held until 1863, when he retired, slowly giving up his private students and becoming more reclusive.

He died forgotten in the 10th arrondissement of Paris in 1880 and is interred at Père-Lachaise. More on Léon Cogniet

On 1 August Nelson discovered the French warships anchored in a strong defensive position in the Bay of Abukir. The French believed that they were open to attack only on one side, the other side being protected by the shore. 

File:Whitcombe - Battle of the Nile- start of the battle.jpg
Thomas Whitcombe (1763–1824)
The opening stages of the Battle of the Nile, 1798, c. 1816
Color aquatint
21.5 × 30 cm (8.5 × 11.8 in)
National Maritime Museum

Thomas Whitcombe (possibly 19 May 1763 – c. 1824) was a prominent British maritime painter of the Napoleonic Wars. Among his work are over 150 actions of the Royal Navy, and he exhibited at the Royal Academy, the British Institution and the Royal Society of British Artists. His pictures are highly sought after today.

Thomas Whitcombe was born in London between 1752 and 19 May 1763, with the latter date frequently cited. Little is known of his background or training, although speculation based on the locations depicted in his paintings may provide some clues.

It is known that he was in Bristol in 1787 and later travelled to the South Coast; there are few ports or harbours from this region that do not feature in his work. In 1789 he toured Wales and in 1813 he travelled to Devon, painting scenes around Plymouth harbour. During his career he also painted scenes showing the Cape of Good Hope, Madeira, Cuba and Cape Horn. Between 1783 and 1824 he lived in London, including addresses in Covent Garden and Somers Town during the course of his exhibiting career.

His date of death, like that of his birth is uncertain; it was not before 1824, and possibly as late as 1834. More on Thomas Whitcombe

Nicholas Pocock (1741–1821)
The Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798, c. 1808
Oil on canvas
71.12 × 101.2 cm (28 × 39.8 in)
National Maritime Museum

Nicholas Pocock (2 March 1740 – 9 March 1821) was a British artist known for his many detailed paintings of naval battles during the age of sail. 

Pocock was born in Bristol in 1740, the son of a seaman. He followed his father's profession and was master of a merchant ship by the age of 26. During his time at sea, he became a skilled artist by making ink and wash sketches of ships and coastal scenes for his log books.

In 1778, Pocock's employer, Richard Champion, became financially insolvent due to the effects of the American Revolutionary War on transatlantic trade. As a result, Pocock gave up the sea and devoted himself to painting. The first of his works were exhibited by the Royal Academy in 1782.

Pocock's naval paintings incorporated extensive research, including interviewing eyewitnesses about weather and wind conditions as well as the positions, condition, and appearance of their ships; and drawing detailed plans of the battle and preliminary sketches of individual ships. He was also present himself at the Glorious First of June in 1794, on board the frigate HMS Pegasus.

In addition to his large-scale oil paintings depicting naval battles, Pocock also produced many watercolours of coastal and ship scenes. More on Nicholas Pocock

However, during the Battle of the Nile the arriving British fleet under Horatio Nelson managed to slip half of their ships in between the land and the French line, thus attacking from both sides. In a few hours 11 out of the 13 French ships of the line and 2 out of the 4 French frigates were captured or destroyed; the four remaining ships fled. 

Daniel Orme (1766-circa 1832)
Nelson coming on deck at the battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798
circa 1800
Oil on canvas
149.86 × 198.12 cm (59 × 78 in)
National Maritime Museum

Daniel Orme (1766–circa 1832) was an artist in England. He was born in Manchester in 1766. His father encouraged his interest in an artistic career. From 1785 to 1814 he lived in London, during which he studied at the Royal Academy. He became a painter and engraver in London. In 1814 he moved back to Manchester. He has two paintings in the National Maritime Museum. More on Daniel Orme

Thomas Luny (1759–1837)
The Battle of the Nile, August 1st 1798
c. 1830
Oil on canvas
84 × 128 cm (33.1 × 50.4 in)

Thomas Luny (1759–1837), born in Cornwall, was an English artist and painter, mostly of seascapes and other marine-based works. Specimens of his work are exhibited at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter, and at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia. More on Thomas Luny

File:The Battle of the Nile.jpg
George Arnald (1763 – 1841)
The Destruction of L'Orient at the Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798, c. 1825-27
Oil on canvas
185.5 × 269 cm (73 × 105.9 in)
National Maritime Museum

Orient explodes at the Battle of the Nile. Franklin is the ship in the extreme left of the picture, and was almost set on fire herself by falling debris.

George Arnald ARA (1763 – 21 November 1841) was a British painter who specialised in landscapes, including topographical views to illustrated county histories. He is best known for his celebrated painting depicting the Battle of the Nile. More on George Arnald ARA

Mather Brown (1761–1831)
A painting of the height of the Battle of the Nile, 1798
Date 1825
Oil on canvas
103.4 × 123.2 cm (40.7 × 48.5 in)
National Maritime Museum

Mather Brown (baptized October 11, 1761 – May 25, 1831) was a portrait and historical painter, born in Boston, Massachusetts, but active in England. 

Brown was taught by his aunt and around 1773 (age 12) became a pupil of Gilbert Stuart. He arrived in London in 1781 to further his training in Benjamin West's studio, entered the Royal Academy schools in 1782 with plans to be a miniature painter, and began to exhibit a year later.

In 1784, he painted two religious paintings for the church of St. Mary’s-in-the-Strand, which led Brown to found a partnership with the painter Daniel Orme for the commercialization of these and other works through exhibition and the sale of engravings. Among these were large paintings of scenes from English history, as well as scenes from Shakespeare's plays. However, despite their success he began to concentrate on portraiture. More on Mather Brown

This frustrated Bonaparte's goal of strengthening the French position in the Mediterranean Sea, and instead put it totally under British control. 

File:Luny Thomas Battle Of The Nile August 1st 1798 At 10pm.jpg
Thomas Luny (1759–1837)
Battle of the Nile, August 1st 1798 at 10 pm, c. 1834
Oil on canvas
70.5 × 45 cm (27.8 × 17.7 in)
Private collection

Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740–1812)
The Battle of the Nile
Oil on canvas
National Maritime Museum

Philip James de Loutherbourg RA (31 October 1740 – 11 March 1812), whose name is sometimes given in the French form of Philippe-Jacques, the German form of Philipp Jakob, or with the English-language epithet of the Younger, was a French-born British painter who became known for his large naval works, his elaborate set designs for London theatres, and his invention of a mechanical theatre called the "Eidophusikon". He also had an interest in faith-healing and the occult, and was a companion of the confidence-trickster Alessandro.

Loutherbourg decided to become a painter, and in 1755 placed himself under Charles-André van Loo in Paris and later under Francesco Giuseppe Casanova. His talent developed rapidly, and he became a figure in the fashionable society of the day. In 1767 he was elected to the French Academy, although below the age required by the rules of the institution, and painted landscapes, sea storms, and battles, all of which work had a celebrity above those of the specialists then working in Paris. He made his debut with the exhibition of twelve pictures, including Storm at Sunset, Night, and Morning after Rain. More on Philip James de Loutherbourg

After the naval defeat at Aboukir, Bonaparte's campaign remained land-bound. However, his army still succeeded in consolidating power in Egypt, although it faced repeated nationalist uprisings, and Napoleon began to behave as absolute ruler of all Egypt.

Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904)
General Bonaparte in Cairo, Napoleon in Egypt, circa 1863
Oil on panel
35.8 × 25 cm (14.1 × 9.8 in)
Princeton University Art Museum

In a largely unsuccessful effort to gain the support of the Egyptian population, Bonaparte issued proclamations that cast him as a liberator of the people from Ottoman and Mamluk oppression, praising the precepts of Islam and claiming friendship between France and the Ottoman Empire. 

Alexandre-Marie Colin
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) Celebrating the Birthday of the Prophet Mohammed during his Campaign on Egypt (1798-1801)
I have no further description, at this time

Alexandre-Marie Colin, (1798-1875) a French painter of historical and genre subjects, was born in Paris in 1798. He was a pupil of Girodet. His religious and historical paintings are characterised by a style based on a careful study of the old masters, while his genre pieces are vigorous and lifelike. Amongst these latter may be noticed his 'French Fish-Market' (1832) in the Berlin Gallery, and his 'Gipsies Resting.' Amongst the former may be named a 'Christopher Columbus,' a 'Flight into Egypt,' and an 'Assumption of the Virgin.' He died in 1875. More on Alexandre-Marie Colin

Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson, French, 1767-1824
The Revolt of Cairo, c. 1810
Oil and ink on paper, laid down on canvas
12 1/8 x 17 3/4 in. (30.8 x 45.1 cm)
Art Institute of Chicago

Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson, (January 5, 1767 – December 9, 1824) was a French painter and pupil of Jacques-Louis David, who was part of the beginning of the Romantic movement by adding elements of eroticism through his paintings. Girodet is remembered for his precise and clear style and for his paintings of members of the Napoleonic family. More on Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson

This could however not prevent the growing anti-French sentiments because the use of alcohol and unveiling of woman was introduced to a muslim community. Ultimately this led to a revolt in which the ‘infidels’ were to be slaughtered. Napoleon drove the insurgents back to the main mosque of Caïro using his artillery.

Levy, Henri Leopold (1840-1904)
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) in the Grand Mosque at Cairo
Oil on canvas
Musee des Beaux-Arts, Mulhouse, France

Henri Léopold Lévy (23 September 1840,  29 December 1904) was a French painter. Lévy came from a family of artisans, his father was a sought-after interior designers. He attended the École des Beaux-Arts, where he was, among other things, a student of Alexandre Cabanel, Eugène Fromentin and François-Édouard Picot. He was awarded a gold medal at the 1965 the Salon de Paris.

The French forces killed thousands of Egyptians and to restore order, Napoleon executed some surviving insurgents with public beheadings. French losses of 300 soldiers still were minimal compared to the Egyptian losses. While secretly the remaining prisoners in Cairo were beheaded and thrown in the river at night, Napoleon granted pardon to local sheiks and imans of the El Azhar mosque speaking the words : “I know that many of you have been weak, but I like to believe that none of you is guilty”.

Pierre-Narcisse Guérin (1774–1833)
Bonaparte fait grace aux revolutes du Caire 23. Octobre 1798
Napoleon Bonaparte Pardoning the Rebels at Cairo, 23rd October 1798, c. 1808

Oil on canvas
365 × 500 cm (143.7 × 196.9 in)
Palace of Versailles

Pierre-Narcisse, baron Guérin (13 March 1774 – 6 July 1833) was a French painter born in Paris.

A pupil of Jean-Baptiste Regnault, he carried off one of the three grands prix offered in 1796, in consequence of the competition not having taken place since 1793. In 1799, his painting Marcus Sextus (Louvre) was exhibited at the Salon and excited wild enthusiasm. Part of this was due to the subject – a victim of Sulla's proscription returning to Rome to find his wife dead and his house in mourning – in which an allusion was found to the turmoil of the French Revolution.

Guérin on this occasion was publicly crowned by the president of the Institute, and went to Rome to study under Joseph-Benoît Suvée. In 1800, unable to remain in Rome on account of his health, he went to Naples, where he painted The Shepherds in the Tomb of Amyntas . In 1802 Guérin produced Phaedra and Hippolytus (Louvre); in 1810, after his return to Paris, he again achieved a great success with Andromache and Pyrrhus (Louvre); and in the same year also exhibited Aurora and Cephalus (Pushkin Museum) and Bonaparte and the Rebels of Cairo (Versailles). These paintings suited the popular taste of the First Empire, being highly melodramatic and pompously dignified.

The Restoration brought to Guérin fresh honours; he had received from the first consul in 1803 the cross of the Legion of Honour, and in 1815 Louis XVIII named to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. His style changed to accord with popular taste. In Aeneas Relating to Dido the Disasters of Troy (Louvre), Guérin adopted a more sensuous, picturesque style.

Guérin was commissioned to paint for the Madeleine a scene from the history of St Louis, but his health prevented him from accomplishing what he had begun, and in 1822 he accepted the post of director of the French Academy in Rome, which in 1816 he had refused. On returning to Paris in 1828, Guérin, who had previously been made chevalier of the order of St. Michel, was ennobled. He now attempted to complete Pyrrhus and Priam, a work which he had begun at Rome, but in vain; his health had finally broken down, and in the hope of improvement he returned to Italy with Horace Vernet. Shortly after his arrival at Rome Baron Guérin died, on 6 July 1833, and was buried in the church of La Trinité de Monti by the side of Claude Lorrain.

A heroic portrait by Guerin hangs in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. An 1821 gift of King Louis XVIII of France, it depicts the Descent from the Cross. More on Pierre-Narcisse, baron Guérin

Bonaparte_aux_pyramides_Orange
Maurice Orange (1867-1916)
Bonaparte in Egypt contemplating the mummy of a king, c. 1895
Oil on canvas
Musée du Vieux Granville

Maurice Orange (9 March 1867, Granville - 28 February 1916, Paris) was a French painter and artist. He gained a scholarship to the École des Beaux-Arts in 1885, where he studied under Jean-Léon Gerome and François Flameng. He was mainly inspired by historical subjects, especially the Napoleonic era, though he also produced portraits, landscapes, townscapes and sketches, often adding drawings to his letters.

From 1887 to 1914 he took part in the Salon des Artistes Français. He won medals and travel bursaries to Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Africa and above all Egypt became a major influences on him. He worked in oils, watercolour, gouache, pastel and charcoal. He died of typhoid fever in 1916. More on Maurice Orange

Napoleon discovered the strength of the dromedary as a transportation tool. The dromedary used by Napoleon was transported to the Paris zoo and after his demise embalmed in the African museum. In January 1799, Napoleon instituted the dromedary regiment formed of 4 squadrons of 100 man each.  The regiment were considered mounted infantry, not cavalry, and fought dismounted.

Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904)
Napoleon and his General Staff in Egypt
Oil on panel
23 x 34 in (58.4 x 88.2 cm)
Private Collector

Then, accompanied by his colleagues from the Institut, Berthollet, Monge, Le Père, Dutertre, Costaz, Caffarelli, and followed by a 300-man escort, Bonaparte set out for the Red Sea and after three days' marching across the desert he and his caravan arrived at Suez. After giving orders to complete the fortifications at Suez, Bonaparte crossed the Red Sea and on 28 December 1798 moved into Sinai to look for the celebrated fountains of Moses 17 kilometres from Suez. 

Despite all the important scientific work that was done by his scientists with the discovery of the Rosetta stone as a major contribution to egyptology, they made one big mistake in estimating the feasability of constructing the Suez canal. The team assumed a height difference between the red sea and the mediterranean water level which would endanger the Egyptian delta with flooding in case of a direct connection.

When the Ottomans in Constantinople received news of the French fleet's destruction at Aboukir, they believed this spelled the end for Bonaparte and his expedition. Sultan Selim III decided to wage war against France, and sent two armies to Egypt. The Ottomans planned two offensives against Cairo: from Syria, across the desert of Salhayeh-Belbays-El Kankah, and from Rhodes by sea landing in the Aboukir area or the port city of Damietta.

Part II


Please visit my other blogs: Art CollectorMythologyMarine ArtPortrait of a Lady, The OrientalistArt of the Nude and The Canals of VeniceMiddle East Artists365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.

No comments:

Post a Comment