Exhibition labels & didactics - National Gallery of Victoria
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Exhibition labels & didactics - National Gallery of Victoria

Exhibition labels & didactics - National Gallery of Victoria Exhibition labels & didactics - National Gallery of Victoria

ngv.vic.gov.au
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06.04.2013 Views

NAPOLEON AND EGYPT, 1798–99 In March and April 1798, the Directory secretly signed the decrees ordering an expedition to Egypt and creating an Army of the Orient. Its command was entrusted to the young General Bonaparte, who was still basking in glory from the First Italian Campaign (1796–97). If the mission’s objective was to block Britain’s access to the trade route to India and to re-establish commercial relations with the Levant, strategically it also served to remove Napoleon, whose popularity had become troubling, from the French political scene. Thirty-seven thousand soldiers set out with Napoleon on this epic and now legendary journey, as well as one hundred and fifty-four savants or scholars. Civilians drawn from every discipline of knowledge, these mathematicians, astronomers, chemists, doctors, naturalists, engineers, geographers, architects, draughtsmen, printers, literary experts, artists and musicians amassed an extraordinary body of knowledge about both ancient and modern Egypt. Despite initial victories, notably the famous triumph over the Mamelukes at the Battle of the Pyramids on the plains at Giza on 21 July 1798, the subsequent destruction of the French fleet by the British Admiral Nelson at Aboukir on 1 August effectively blockaded the Army of the Orient within Egypt. Condemned to an inevitable defeat, the expedition ended in August 1801 with the capitulation of the French forces, who were evacuated on British ships. Napoleon himself had left Egypt on 23 August 1799, returning to France. 52 © COPYRIGHT This document remains the property of the National Gallery of Victoria and must be returned upon request. Reproduction in part or in whole is prohibited without written authorisation.

François-Louis-Joseph WATTEAU French 1758–1823 The Battle of the Pyramids, 21 July 1798 La Bataille des Pyramides, 21 juillet 1798 1798–99 oil on canvas Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes Inv. P. 46.1.211 After landing near Alexandria in late May 1798 and quickly taking that city, Napoleon’s forces swept south, where they were confronted by the main Egyptian Army outside Cairo. Through Napoleon’s use of superior tactics against the famed Mameluke cavalry, the battle for Cairo lasted only a few hours, and he marched into the city on 24 July. In this painting Watteau has brilliantly exploited the dramatic setting, with the majestic Great Pyramid of Giza, still largely unfamiliar, theatrically dwarfing the mêlée. © COPYRIGHT This document remains the property of the National Gallery of Victoria and must be returned upon request. Reproduction in part or in whole is prohibited without written authorisation. 53

François-Louis-Joseph WATTEAU<br />

French 1758–1823<br />

The Battle <strong>of</strong> the Pyramids, 21 July 1798<br />

La Bataille des Pyramides, 21 juillet 1798<br />

1798–99<br />

oil on canvas<br />

Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes Inv. P. 46.1.211<br />

After landing near Alexandria in late May<br />

1798 and quickly taking that city, Napoleon’s<br />

forces swept south, where they were<br />

confronted by the main Egyptian Army<br />

outside Cairo. Through Napoleon’s use<br />

<strong>of</strong> superior tactics against the famed<br />

Mameluke cavalry, the battle for Cairo lasted<br />

only a few hours, and he marched into the<br />

city on 24 July. In this painting Watteau has<br />

brilliantly exploited the dramatic setting,<br />

with the majestic Great Pyramid <strong>of</strong> Giza,<br />

still largely unfamiliar, theatrically dwarfing<br />

the mêlée.<br />

© COPYRIGHT<br />

This document remains the property <strong>of</strong> the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Gallery</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Victoria</strong> and must be returned upon request. Reproduction in part or in whole is prohibited without written authorisation.<br />

53

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