Denon, Vivant. Plate T. 36 “Ingresso Della Gan Piramide”

Vivant Denon.  Plate T. 36.  “Ingresso Della Gan Piramide.” 

From Atlante Monumentale del Basso e Dell’Alto Egito.  Florence: Valeriani & Segao, 1837.  10 3/4 x 8 1/4 (image).  Aquatint.  Very good condition.  

A print after the drawings of Vivant Denon (1747-1825) who is known as the “founding father of Egyptology.”   He was the leader among the scholars brought by Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt in 1798 and was a close friend of the future Emperor.  As a diplomat, scholar, and artist, he applied a wide ranging and insightful application to the study of this relatively new field of study for Western man.  His wonderful drawings were designed for Napoleon’s huge and definitive Description de l’Egypte which was published in Paris in 1809.  Prior to the official publication, Denon issued his own Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Egypt in 1802, and this study was later circulated about Europe with eventual translation into English, German, and Italian editions.

This aquatint was issued with an Italian publication about Egyptian studies published in Florence by Domenico Valeriani and  Girolamo Segato entitled Atlante Monumentale del Basso e Dell’Alto Egito in 1837.  The work include works by Gau, Caillaud, and Rosellini as well as Denon, but all of the plates in volume one were after works by Denon, and this plate is from that volume.  The range of study is truly imbued with the spirit of the French encyclopedists because the interests served sweep through the past and present of Egyptian social, economic, technological, and artistic culture.