#Dominique-Vivant Denon

[empirearchives]

“It is rare to love much the grandest men but I assure you that the more I see this there, the more I love him. I feel happy that my final epoch of my life could be devoted to existence so distinguished. It is the burning star who revives my soul.”

— Vivant Denon on his emotional attachment to Napoleon. In a note sent to his lover, Isabella Teotochi, in 1803.

Source: Susan Jaques, The Caesar of Paris: Napoleon Bonaparte, Rome, and the Artistic Obsession that Shaped an Empire

[federer7]

Femme faisant le portrait d'une autre femme. 1700s

Auteur: Dominique-Vivant Denon

[billlaotian]

[publicdomainreview]

Sketches of Voltaire aged 81, by Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, just 2 yrs before the great Enlightenment thinker would pass away, #onthisday in 1778. Learn about his relationship to Buddhism in Donald S. Lopez, Jr.'s essay "Voltaire and the Buddha" — https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/voltaire-and-the-buddha

[generaldesaix]

tell us more! tell us about all those stories!

Well, have a seat.

One story I can remember was the officers having to attend obligatory classes on everything related to Egypt right before the campaign. Now, personally, I enjoyed these classes and saw them as an opportunity to learn more.

The Gascons (namely @your-dandy-king and @armagnac-army) , on the other hand… they were up to unhealthy amounts of GASCONNERIE. Just fooling around throwing paper balls everywhere and not taking the lecture seriously at all. I pity our savants, to be completely honest.

Ah, I didn’t explain. See, it wasn’t just the military that partook in the ill-fated Egyptian campaign, but multiple savants too. Botanists, zoologists, historians, artists, architects, engineers… all sorts of experts.

I befriended some of them. Especially Dominique Vivant Denon, the first director of the Louvre! Yes, THE Louvre. A fascinating man I learned so much from! I miss him.

[monimarat]

A very unkind drawing of Danton at the Tribunal by Dominique Vivant Denon.

Also Hébert on the charrette.

[eunikia]

Napoleon and Freemasonry

Was Napoleon Bonaparte a member of the Masonic Brotherhood? Multiple hypotheses have been advanced on the subject, and although the probability is high, it has never been definitely established that he was made a Freemason, either in Valence (French Department Drome), Marseille, Nancy ("St. John of Jerusalem" Lodge, December 3, 1797?), Malta, Egypt or elsewhere.

Chart of the Bonaparte Masonic Lodge, c. 1810 Enlarge

What is certain is that members of the expedition he commanded during the Egyptian campaign brought the Freemasonry to the banks of the Nile. General Kleber founded the "Isis" Lodge in Cairo (was Bonaparte a co-founder?), while Brothers Gaspard Monge (member, among others, of the "Perfect Union" Military Lodge, Mezieres) and Dominique Vivant Denon (a member of Sophisians, "The Perfect Meeting" Lodge, Paris) were among the scholars who would make this strategic and military setback a success that the young General Bonaparte would exploit upon his return to France.

What is also undeniable is that, beginning with Bonaparte's coup of 18 Brumaire, the Freemasonry would thrive for 15 extraordinary years, multiplying the number of lodges and members. The First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, understanding the advantages he could derive from the obedient Freemasonry, invested in these reliable men, hoping to be rewarded with faultless servility. He was not disappointed.

Read the entire article here:

There’s too scanty information available concerning Napoleon’s involvement with Freemasonry. Sometimes it seems like his biography has been carefully cleaned of some unwanted negativity - not only on this issue.

[metmuseum]

Dominique Vivant Denon (1747–1825). 1812. Credit line: Gift of David and Constance Yates, in memory of Victoria Blumka Nasatir Goldberg, 1993 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/208161

[elblogdelescriba]

Expedición de Napoleón a Egipto

El 10 de mayo de 1798, Napoleón al mando del Ejército de Oriente, partió con una expedición a Egipto, en el cual llevaba consigo 167 investigadores y científicos (matemáticos, astrónomos, dibujantes, naturalistas, arquitectos y literatos), con la misión de documentar sobre Egipto desde su pasado hasta ese momento. Viajando de norte a sur del país, revelando lugares importantes como Karnak, Luxor, la esfinge, así como ilustraciones de importantes lugares del legado del antiguo Egipto

De este grupo se formaría la Comission des Sciences et des Arts, a cargo de Dominique Vivant Denon, que concluyeron su labor con la obra Description de l´Egypte, la cual contaba con nueve volúmenes de texto y trece de figuras.

Además, en esta expedición hallaron en 1799 la famosa Piedra Rosetta, durante los trabajos de construcción del fuerte en la ciudad de Rasid, la cual contiene tres escrituras diferentes: jeroglífico, demótico y griego, siendo parte un decreto del rey Ptolomeo V Epifanes.

[coleccionpaulina]

Dominique Vivant, Barón de Denon (1790).

Le roi Phallus malade et défait, affaissée sor son trône, reçoit la visite de ses médecins.

[Grabado calcográfico. 9 x 22 cms.] Colección Paulina.

[josefavomjaaga]

Vivant Denon in Prussia 1806

Still in the context of comparing "Ney versus Soult" (😊) I came across this page: Vivant Denon. I understand the main accusation levelled at Soult is that he was rapacious, notably when it came to works of art. However, confiscating works of art in French-occupied territories was common practice.

As an example: After the victory over Prussia in 1806, Vivant Denon travelled through the castles and painting galleries there. He confiscated:

at Castle Sans-Souci in Potsdam: The Juggler and the statues of Julia and Niobe, six antique busts, thirty paintings in the Italian school, twenty-five in the Flemish school

in Schwerin: 209 paintings

in Kassel: 299 paintings, including some magnificent Rembrandts

in Brunswick: 400 precious volumes (incunabula) from the Wolfenbüttel library, 278 paintings from the Saltzdahlen gallery, 9 busts, 74 small bronzes, 83 ivories, 38 Indian and Chinese objects, 70 carved wooden objects, 15 objects made of Chinese clay, 243 drawings and engravings, 70 medals in silver and bronze

And that’s one single trip Denon made through a country not particlarly well-known for its artificial exploits. So why would it have been any different in Spain? Even more so as the French had every intention to stay there. - Interestingly though, the section »Prélèvements en Espagne« on the page is all empty.

[publicdomainreview]

Sketches of Voltaire aged 81, by Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, just 2 yrs before the great Enlightenment thinker would pass away, #onthisday in 1778. Learn about his relationship to Buddhism in Donald S. Lopez, Jr.'s essay "Voltaire and the Buddha" — https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/voltaire-and-the-buddha

[dasgemutlichkeit]

Dominique-Vivant Denon (1747 - 1825)

Le Danseur