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SILVER Seller in Milano, Italy
Etching watercolor Buonaparte leaving Egypt by James Gillray (Chelsea 1757 - London 1815), engraver specialized in caricature. Member of the Royal Academy, active from 1792 to 1810, signed his sheets with many pseudonyms targeting the most powerful politicians through satirical images with bright colors. Particularly critical of King George III, he ridiculed the Jacobins and Napoleon, drawing on the excesses of the French Revolution. In this print Bonaparte is caught on the shore of the Egyptian coast on August 23, 1799. He is about to board a small boat that will take him to the frigate "Le Muiron" that awaits him offshore, visible in the center of the scene. On this small boat, two soldiers with uniforms and three-pointed hats are waiting for the commander, holding large sacks of money. Napoleon is in uniform but without his hat. He turns his gaze to the right where a small group of French soldiers in the background are making gestures of dismay. Napoleon is leaving the site of the military clashes to return to France and take power. With his right hand he points to a sort of vision in the sky: a scepter and an imperial crown above the revolutionary fasces appear among the clouds (symbols of the Emperor crushing the Revolution), while above the general flies a winged figure of a woman (Fame) with a trumpet pointing at him and smiling mockingly. Behind him, behind the French troops, is a small camp with tents and tricolor flags, and in the background is a vast Mamluk camp with crescent-shaped flags. Below the title: "For an illustration of the above, see, the Intercepted Letters from the Republican General Kleber, to the French Directory, respecting the Courage, Honor & Patriotic Views, of - "the Deserter of the Army of Egypt". Below: London Published by John Miller Bridge street & Blackwood Edinburgh. Excellent impression with vibrant coloring. Good state of preservation; margin of one centimeter at the top, trimmed along the line always visible along the other three sides. Ivory paper with no watermark. On the verso, collection stamp letters CG belonging to Gabriel Cognacq (Paris 1880 - 1951) who owned an immense collection of paintings, furniture, objects, drawings, prints and sculptures which were dispersed at his death in ten auctions in Paris (Light n 538d). Bibliography: BM Satires / Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum (9523).
ID: 11318-1622819237-19912
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