01 Work, The Art of War, Guillaume-François Colson's Napoleon In Alexandria , with footnotes

Guillaume-François Colson (1785–1850)

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

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. More on this painting

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

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, 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.