Egyptian Family (Sketch for "The Battle of the Pyramids")

c. 1835
(French, 1771–1835)
Framed: 377.2 x 154.9 x 12.7 cm (148 1/2 x 61 x 5 in.); Unframed: 353.1 x 132.1 cm (139 x 52 in.); Former: 306.8 x 131.5 cm (120 13/16 x 51 3/4 in.)
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Description

In 1810, Gros exhibited a massive painting of Napoleon at the 1798 Battle of the Pyramids, one of the rare French triumphs in the failed campaign to conquer Egypt (1789-1801). After Napoleon first fell from power in 1814, the painting went into storage, until the new king Louis-Philippe chose to resurrect it for a history museum in Paris. However, perhaps to diminish Napoleon's significance, the government asked Gros to amplify the original with an addition at each end. This painting incorporates General Kléber, a famously successful military leader who had been excluded from the original painting.
Egyptian Family (Sketch for "The Battle of the Pyramids")

Egyptian Family (Sketch for "The Battle of the Pyramids")

c. 1835

Antoine-Jean Gros

(French, 1771–1835)
France, 19th century

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