ABSTRACT
Egyptian civilization was acknowledged as the precursor of Greece, which was in turn superseded by imperial Rome. Civilian scholars had accompanied the Egyptian Campaign to undertake a scientific documentation of Egypt. In painting, Napoleon had his person and rule linked with previous military emperors of antiquity and France. In architecture, Percier and Fontaine the foremost designers of the Empire period were responsible with Denon for much of the monumental propaganda. Egyptianizing monuments and buildings of the Empire display the traditional symbolism relating to Egypt that had been in use since the Renaissance. Alongside traditional images and symbolism of Ancient Egypt, re-worked symbols and new themes were introduced as part of Napoleon's iconography of self-promotion and legitimization. The other Egyptianizing tombs of Montparnasse cemetery are interesting in their simplicity and similarity, and indeed, they may have been mass-produced. The fluted frame surrounding the screen contained the vulture Nekhbet in flight, and a large winged sundisk was central in the frieze above.
