WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Thursday, Feb. 23 at 6 pm, the Clark Art Institute hosts a lecture by Liza Oliver, associate professor of art at Wellesley College, who discusses the Description de l’Égypte (1809–1820). The talk is presented in conjunction with the Clark’s "Promenades on Paper: Eighteenth-Century French Drawings from the Bibliothèque nationale de France exhibition," on view through March 12.

 

According to a press release:

 

The Description de l’Égypte (1809–1820) is a monumental compilation of engravings and essays about the pharaonic past, modern state, and natural history of Egypt that ushered in the discipline of modern Egyptology as we know it. Born out of Napoleon’s violent occupation of the country in 1798, the Description de l’Égypte highlights the close connection between Enlightenment-inspired classification projects and Europe’s imperial and colonial ambitions of the period.

 

Admission to the Clark is free through March 2023. No registration is required. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.