Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798
François André Vincent|baron Antoine Jean Gros
ca. 1800 · Pen and black ink, brush and brown wash, heightened with white on beige washed paper; squared in graphite · Drawings and Prints
This large study is one of several Vincent executed depicting the Battle of the Pyramids, which took place on July 21, 1798 as part of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt. The project was part of a larger commission, issued in 1800 by Lucien Bonaparte, minister of the interior, for six large canvases, each by a different artist, depicting a series of battles. Although the painting was never completed, one can see Vincent's conception of the scene in this energetic study where a roiling, chaotic mass of horses and Mamluk soldiers on the banks of the Nile provide a powerful visual contrast to the orderly rows of French soldiers beyond.
- Artist
- François André Vincent|baron Antoine Jean Gros
- Date
- ca. 1800
- Medium
- Pen and black ink, brush and brown wash, heightened with white on beige washed paper; squared in graphite
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Credit line
- Rogers Fund, 1951
