An exhibition that brings together two of the myths mostly deeply-engraved in the collective subconscious: Napoleon and Egypt.


Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt in 1798, with around sixty scholars and some of the most brilliant officers of the time accompanying the general, is a celebrated episode in History despite having been a failure from a military point of view. Concentrating on the ‘expedition’, the exhibition looks at a century of relations between Egypt and France, symbolically book-ended by two dates: the birth of Napoleon Bonaparte and Muhammad Ali – the first ‘modernist’ ruler of Egypt – in 1769, and the inauguration of the Suez canal en 1869.

Egypt’s influence on France was intense during the period, and France played a decisive role in helping modernise Egypt.

The exhibition attempts to give a new perspective on 19th Century Franco-Egyptian relations, particularly following Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition between 1798 and 1801, starting with the cultural exchanges. The timeframe has been limited to 1770-1870, with additional contributions from the end of the 19th Century to show how Napoleon’s compaign was intepreted by French artists. The confrontation of Napoleon’s troops with Egyptian civilisation, both ancient and modern, was a real culture shock. The exhibition’s chronological presentation will alternate the French and Egyptian point of view of this important moment in history, when both countries were experiencing profound cultural, political and economic changes.

Here’s all the essential information for the exhibition “Bonaparte et l’Egypte” at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris

When: 14th October 2008 – 29th MArchn 2009
Where: Institut du Monde Arabe, 1 rue des Fossés St Bernard, 75005 Paris. Métro Cardinal Lemoine (line 10), Jussieu (lines 7 & 10), Sully-Morland (ligne 7)
Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday, 10am – 6pm, weekends and public holidays 10am – 7pm, late night opening Thursdays until 9.30pm
Admission: Adults 10.50 €, concession 8.50 €, 6,50 € for under 26 year-olds
More information (in French unfortunately): here

Bigger map here