| The Battle of Alexandria | |
|---|---|
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| Artist | Philip James de Loutherbourg |
| Year | 1802 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Location | Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh |
The Battle of Alexandria is an 1802 history painting by the French-born British artist Philip James de Loutherbourg. The artist was well known for his scenes of naval and land battles. He set this work around the Battle of Alexandria in March 1801, when a British army allied to the Ottoman Empire successfully defeated French forces who had launched an Invasion of Egypt under Napoleon Bonaparte three years earlier.
Reminiscent of the battle scenes popularised by Benjamin West's Death of General Wolfe thirty years earlier, the painting focuses on the British high command while the battle rages in the background.[1] The British commander Ralph Abercromby, an experienced Scottish general, has been fatally wounded and is slumped.[2] Gathered around him are various other senior officers including his successor the Irish general John Hely-Hutchinson, Robert Anstruther, John Moore, John Abercromby, Lord Ludlow, Eyre Coote and the naval officer Sir Sidney Smith.[3]
It is now in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland, having been purchased in 1986.[4] Another artist Charles Orme also notably depicted the battle.[5]