Mounted Mameluke Chieftain Calling for Aid

Gros, David's outstanding pupil, became one of the leading painters of France during Napoleon's reign. He had experienced military life and was prepared to realistically interpret the glorious events of the Consulate and the Empire. With vivid color and movement, Gros depicted the frenzy of battles, the pomp of the military, and the exoticism of Egypt and the Near East. He made only two lithographs, yet his painterly approach to the stone was an early indication of the potential of this new medium.