Napoleon on the Nile Soldiers, Artists and the Rediscovery of Egypt

by Lisa Small

Dahesh Museum of Art, New York, Published 2006. Softcover, printed paper wrappers; 48 pp; 28 cm. Catalogue published in conjunction with the exhibition Napoleon on the Soldiers, Artists, and the Rediscovery of Egypt, held at the Dahesh Museum of Art, New York, from June 8 through December 31, 2006. Illustrated throughout with black and white and color illustrations. [From back cover] General Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign (1798-1801) was not a military triumph. It was profoundly successful, however, as a cultural expedition, resulting in the publication of the encyclopedic Description de l'Egypte (1809-28). Containing more than eight hundred engravings, this unprecedented scholarly achievement, the work of one hundred and fifty scholars Napoleon brought to Egypt, is considered the foundational work of modern Egyptology, exhaustively portraying virtually every aspect of the country, ancient and modern. Napoleon on the Soldiers, Artists, and the Rediscovery of Egypt brings together more than eighty engravings from the Description de l'Egypte, vivid Orientalist paintings and decorative objects influenced by them, and a selection of campaign letters and documents to explore the profound legacy of the French occupation of Egypt and how the interaction between military power and scientific knowledge shaped the West's enduring image of that country. Contents Acknowledgments, Lenders to the Exhibition; Director's Foreword; Napoleon on the Nile; Exhibition Checklist; Selected Bibliography

Paperback

Published January 1, 2006