Name of Object:

The Franco-Tuscan Expedition to Egypt

Location:

Florence, Italy

Holding Institution:

Egyptian Museum

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Holding Institution (original language):

Museo Egizio

Date of Object:

c. 1830

Author:

Giuseppe Angelelli (1803, Coimbra (Portugal)-1844, Florence)

Inventory Number:

Inv. 1bis

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

Height 230 cm, width 347 cm

Provenance:

Florence

Description:

In 1827 the artist Giuseppe Angelelli took part in the Franco-Tuscan campaign to Egypt (1828–1829) sponsored by the French Government and the Grand Duke of Tuscany and directed by the archaeologist Ippolito Rosellini. Once back in Florence, the Grand Duke of Tuscany commissioned him to create a painting of those who took part at the campaign in Thebes.
The two directors are represented in the core of the scene, wearing the Nizam, the official clothing, which has recently been required by the pasha and willingly adopted by most of them. Champollion is seated and Ippolito Rosellini is standing at his right, holding a sheet depicting one of the Kadesh Battle's scenes, that of Pharaoh grabbing an enemy's arm. In the middle, between the two protagonists, is the engineer Gaetano Rosellini, Ippolito's uncle and architect in charge of the two missions. On the left, several members of the Commissions: the elder Raddi, dressed in European garb and holding a lotus flower in his hand; the illustrator Duchesne is shown in the foreground with the colours on one side and a painting of ruins on the other.

Type of Object

Painting

Additional Copyright Information:

Copyright image: Su concessione del Ministero per i Beni Culturali e del Turismo - Museo Egizio di Firenze.

Citation of this web page:

Marina Minozzi "The Franco-Tuscan Expedition to Egypt" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;it;144;en

Prepared by: Marina Minozzi
Copyedited by: Anne Dowell

MWNF Working Number: IT2 002