''The Battle of Heliopolis'' (French: ''Bataille D'Heliopolis'') is an 1837

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and B ...

by the French

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

Léon Cogniet Léon Cogniet (29 August 1794 – 20 November 1880) was a French history and portrait painter. He is probably best remembered as a teacher, with more than one hundred notable students. Biography He was born in Paris. His father was a painter ...

History and description

It depicts the Battle of Heliopolis fought on 20 March 1800 at Heliopolis on the outskirts of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. The battle, which took place during the

French invasion of Egypt The French invasion of Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was a military expedition led by Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars. The campaign aimed to undermine British trade routes, expand French influence, and establish a ...

, allowed the French to suppress an uprising against their control. In the 1830s during the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...

, the French monarch

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

announced the restoration of the former

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

as a

history museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

. A large number of works were commissioned featuring moments from French history. With his depiction of Heliopolis, Cogniet was one of many leading French painters who produced works for Versailles. He was paid three thousand

Francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

for the works. Today the painting remains at Versailles.https://pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/joconde/000PE005021?mainSearch=%22Heliopolis%22&last_view=%22list%22&idQuery=%22f1fff61-1c0-34cd-76c-784ffc5b0a3%22

References

Bibliography

* Metzger, Franziska & Sproll, Heinz . ''Abendlanddiskurse und Erinnerungsräume Europas im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert''. Böhlau Köln, 2022. * Ross, Steven T. ''The A to Z of the Wars of the French Revolution''. Scarecrow Press, 2010. Paintings by Léon Cogniet 1837 paintings Paintings in the Palace of Versailles French invasion of Egypt and Syria in art History paintings Oil on canvas paintings {{1830s-painting-stub