Description of Egypt

by Gilles Néret

A hugely ambitious and comprehensive work, the ten volumes of "Description de L'Egypte" were published following Napoleon Bonaparte's 1798 invasion of Egypt. This book presents highlights carefully plucked from the original masterwork in which discoveries of ancient Egyptian civilization, such as the Rosetta stone and the Valley of the Kings, were first revealed to the European world.

Genres: History, Art, Egypt, Egyptology, Nonfiction, Architecture, Archaeology

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1809

About the author

Gilles Néret (1933 - August 3, 2005) was a French art critic and historian, journalist and curator. He wrote extensively on the history of erotica.

He organized several art retrospectives in Japan and founded the SEIBU museum and the Wildenstein Gallery in Tokyo. He directed art reviews such as L’Oeil and Connaissance des Arts and received the Elie Faure Prize in 1981 for his publications. Since 1992, Néret was an editor for Taschen, for which he has written catalogues raisonnés of the works of Klimt and others, as well as the author of Erotica Universalis.

Reviews

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a small-format reproduction of the first few volumes of the Description de l'Egypte commissioned by Napoleon in the very late 18th and early 19th centuries. As with many things ancient Egyptian, I have a mild obsession with the Description. I had despaired of ever having the opportunity to actually read the thing (other than seeing one open volume behind glass at the Library of Alexandria) and so was delighted to discover the existence of a mass-produced facsimile. Those savants, man, they got some real shit done while the French army was blundering around losing to the Brits. They produced hundreds of faithful renderings not just of the A-list temples and landmarks, but also details of hieroglyphs (that no one yet understood!), architectural drawings and elevations, to-scale site plans and maps (did they use balloons to get the aerial views? they are amazing), examples of everyday tools and implements, farming and manufacturing techniques -- you name it, they recorded it in glorious detail. And all BY HAND. The scale and skill of their work is breathtaking. I'm withholding a star because the book itself is quite small - it would have been better at about one-and-a-half times the size - and because I would have appreciated a more extensive introduction to the project than the three pages provided. But my goodness, what a treasure.

[Mohammad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Piece of history more than a book. The Description de L’Egypt is a collection of engravings and diagrams made by members of the French Expedition to Egypt (1798 - 1801).

The collection of images brings to mind how the French must have been feeling, discovering for the first time an ancient, alien, strange, and advanced civilisation so different than their own.

It also is useful for its images of the statue of Ozymandias in its decrepit state (Now known as Ramesses II and standing proudly in the British Museum), as well as showing the state of the island of Philae, which contained a treasure trove of Ancient Egyptian monuments and artefacts, before being evacuated and the monuments moved due to the rising sea levels caused by the Aswan Dam.

[Cecilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book to read, this is a book to enjoy the images. I love the edition of this book, with beautiful paper, beautiful drawnings... All these drawning are part of the ones that Napoleon's artists made in his campaign in Egypt. If there is only one thing to thanks him for, I am sure this is it.

[Willy Marz Thiessam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its hard not to fall in love with this volume. The illustrations and level of detail combined with a scientific rigour to record everything makes it not only a joy to have but an education in itself. This is what the scholars and artists wished to do, to translate what they saw into something that could be used to educate and develop studies of Egypt.

To add to this that all members of this group who produced the book were assembled and put on to ships without knowing where they were going is remarkable. Napoleon organized this as a military campaign because to him and France it was as important as a military campaign. This project made modern scholarship of the ancient world what it is today, scientific, rigorous and comprehensive.

The book is also beautiful, staggering beauty of architecture, ideas and form.

[Alamgir Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only are the Ancient Egyptian monuments illustrated here magnificent, but the illustrations themselves are magnificent. Real delights for the eyes and will fill you with awe and wonder. Makes me want to return to Egypt and see more of these wonders.

[Nick Argiriou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Πολύ ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο για το είδος του, με πολύ προσεγμένη εικονογράφηση και καλοδουλεμένη. Βγάζει ευχαρίστηση και συστήνεται αν σας αρέσει το αντικείμενο.

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over 500 civilians accompanied Napoleon when he went to Egypt, among them 167 scholars that included 21 mathematicians, three astronomers, 17 civil engineers, 13 naturalists and mining engineers, four architects, eight draughtsmen, 10 men of letters and 22 printers. They all went to work once Napoleon had defeated 10,000 Mameluke cavalry beneath the pyramids of Giza. Artefacts were discovered and were then all meticulously drawn and catalogued.

All the artefacts' drawings were eventually published when, in February 1802, Napoleon ordered the Imperial Press to begin pubication of a mammoth work that began in 1809. This is a condensed edition of the 10-volume work but is nonetheless a superb book.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome little book. There isn't anything to read except the titles of numerous drawings and paintings. But that doesn't make this book not worth while, because a lot can be learned from the drawings themselves. During Napoleon Bonaparte's reign he sent an Egyptian campaign to try and conquer Egypt. Along with them were sent scientists who recorded all ancient Egyptian artifacts they could. The result was turned into a book called Description de l'Egypte. This small book only holds a fraction of what the original book included, but is incredible nonetheless.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although there is little to read in this book it is a superb representation of the culture of Ancient Egypt as captured by the artists and scientists sent by Bonaparte during his reign to Egypt. This book is only a small selection of the drawings and sketches made during that campaign but the overwhelming beauty of each place is captured and portrayed extremely well, even in this small volume

[Cheryl Carpinello]

I have a different edition of this book by Franco Serino. It is filled with copies of the original sketches made by Napoleon's savants when his troops went to Egypt in 1798 to conquer the people and the land. Have just looked at the pictures so far, but it is magnificent! My edition was printed by the American University in Cairo Press and carries this US ISBN 978-8880959021.

[Geert1962 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book when you are interested in ancient Egypt. A must have for travellers and historians.

[Alaric Longward · Rating 5 out of 5]

A curiously intriguing book full of sights the French army encountered with their puss-filled eyes while chasing after Murad Bey.

[keereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

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