Napoleon Entering Cairo
c. 1900
Medium
Gilt bronze
Dimensions
38.1 × 43.2 cm (15 × 17 1/16 in.); Base: 68.6 × 35.1 × 53.1 cm (27 × 13 13/16 × 20 7/8 in.)
Classification
statuette
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
117240
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Behold Jean Léon Gérôme'sNapoleon Entering Cairo a captivating gilt bronze statuette crafted around 1900. This 15 × 17-inch work, perched on a substantial base, vividly captures the dramatic moment of Napoleon's triumphant entry into Cairo in 8 during his audacious Egyptian campaign. Gôme, a master of French academic art and Orientalism, excelled in rendering historical scenes with meticulous realism, blending painterly precision with sculptural drama. The statuette commemorates a pivotal episode in Napoleon's expedition against British influence in the East, which sparked Egyptomania in Europe and led to groundbreaking discoveries like the Rosetta Stone. Gérôme's Orientalist lens romanticizes the clash of cultures, portraying Napoleon amid exotic surroundings with dynamic energy—horses rearing, figures in motion—frozen in gilded bronze for timeless allure. The gilt finish enhances its opulence, evoking imperial splendor. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Department of Painting and Sculpture of Europe, this statuette exemplifies Gérôme's versatility across media, inviting visitors to ponder the blend of conquest, exoticism, and artistry that defined 19th-century European imagination.
About the Artist
Jean Léon Gérôme · 1824–1904
Gérôme's father, a goldsmith from Vesoul, discouraged his son from studying to become a painter but agreed, reluctantly, to allow him a trial period in the studio of Paul Delaroche in Paris. He traveled and studied in Italy, elsewhere in Europe, and in Asia Minor. The subjects that he enjoyed most were scenes of nature and animals. He is best known for mythological and Comment on works: history pa...