Theologie à la Turque and a Peep of the Coptic Mayor at Cairo, preceded by the Procureur de la Commune
Original title: Theologie à la Turque and a Peep of the Coptic Mayor at Cairo, preceded by the Procureur de la Commune
kurzbeschreibung
In an etching from 1799, James Gillray gathers figures in oriental dress before ancient masonry. The print targets Napoleon's Egyptian expedition and mocks its scientific and religious pretensions.
Description
Before a ruin with columns and an arched gateway stand several men in traditional clothing. One in the middle presents a sign reading 'L'INSTITUT DE MAISONNE' while holding a bottle; beside him a figure carries a sign with 'IL KORAN'. Another man holds a book and a bottle, and on the left stands a figure with a turban and lance. Two riders on a donkey, armed with a stick, appear in the rear. Fine lines and hatching remain monochrome throughout.
Context
The etching was made after 12 March 1799, during the French occupation of Egypt under Napoleon Bonaparte. Gillray took up the founding of the Institut d'Égypte and made the tension between conquest, research and religious appropriation his theme. The mockery was aimed at a British public that watched French ventures in the East with suspicion.
Impact
Dense hatching and careful drawing of the figures give the print an almost documentary air that carries the joke beneath. Ancient ruin and contemporary props meet so that historical grandeur and comic banality cut across each other.
Technique
The drawing was etched into a copper plate, the acid biting the lines. From fine strokes and dense hatching emerge graduated grey values and a richly articulated texture. Printed, the sheet lies on paper and measures 23.8 by 35.2 centimetres.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)