More than 160 leading French artists and scientists were linked to the young Napoleon Bonaparte’s (1769-1821) Egyptian campaign in 1798-99. This lithograph is a page from the splendid work entitled Description de l’Egypte. This resulted from the scientific work carried out by the French in the Institut d’Egypte in Cairo. Thorvaldsen owned the expanded second edition, the one known as the Panckoucke Edition, commissioned in 1820 by Napoleon’s successor, Louis XVIII (1755-1824). This page belongs to the first volume entitled Antiquités. At some stage, however, it was cut out of Thorvaldsen’s copy and is now a loose sheet.
The scientific staff of the Institut d’Egypte had been loaned by the leading scientific establishments in France. In Cairo they mapped out both contemporary and ancient Egypt, covering everything from maps, the country’s buildings, monuments, flora and fauna to trade activities and social conditions. The plates are of a large size, making it plain that Napoleon viewed the undertaking as a particularly prestigious project. Even the first edition, known as the Imperial Edition, consisted of no fewer than 23 volumes.
C.L.F. Panckoucke pinxit. / Allais Sculpsit / FAC-SIMILE DES MONUMENS DOLORIÉS DE L'EGYPTE / D'APRES LE TABLEAU DE C.L.F. PONCKOUCKE / Chevalier de la légion de Honneur. Editeur de la description de l'Egypte. 2e Edition. / 1825
