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Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798

Former Attribution Formerly attributed to baron Antoine Jean Gros French
ca. 1800
Not on view
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798
  • Artist: François André Vincent (French, Paris 1746–1816 Paris)
  • Former Attribution: Formerly attributed to baron Antoine Jean Gros (French, Paris 1771–1835 Meudon)
  • Date: ca. 1800
  • Medium: Pen and black ink, brush and brown wash, heightened with white on beige washed paper; squared in graphite
  • Dimensions: 15 3/4 x 29 1/2 in. (41.8 x 75.1 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1951
  • Object Number: 51.122
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
Standing Man with His Right Hand on His Chest, François André Vincent French, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over red chalk on tan paper. Traces of squaring in graphite and red chalk.
Standing Man with His Right Hand on His Chest
François André Vincent
Former Attribution Formerly attributed to Jacques Louis David
ca. 1787
Guitar, Jean-Baptiste Voboam French, Spruce, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, ivory, ebony, French
Guitar
attributed to Jean-Baptiste Voboam
1697
Study of Eleven Heads, Jacques de Gheyn II Netherlandish, Pen and three shades of brown ink with black chalk on laid paper; framing lines in pen and brown ink and graphite
Study of Eleven Heads
Jacques de Gheyn II
late 16th–early 17th century
Study for Boreas Abducting Oreithyia, François André Vincent French, Red, black and white chalk, with stumping
Study for Boreas Abducting Oreithyia
François André Vincent
ca. 1782
Ceramic Horn, Glazed pottery, French
Ceramic Horn
French
late 18th or early 19th century

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