Egyptian Family (Sketch for "The Battle of the Pyramids")
Medium
oil on linen
Dimensions
unframed: 353.1 × 132.1 cm · framed: 377.2 × 154.9 × 12.7 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1972.17.2
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
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 incorporate...