Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798

Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798

François André Vincent

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.