The Battle of Alexandria, 21 March 1801

Philip James de Loutherbourg's Battle of Alexandria of 1802 commemorates the British army's victory over French forces on March 21, 1801, which ended Napoleon's Egyptian adventure and resulted in the return of French-occupied Egyptian antiquities to European museums. De Loutherbourg applied his theatrical expertise in depicting dramatic visual spectacle — smoke, fire, cavalry charges — to military history painting, creating battle scenes of exceptional atmospheric drama. The Battle of Alexandria was a significant British victory that contemporary audiences followed with intense interest, and de Loutherbourg's documentation served both commemorative and propagandistic functions.

The panoramic battle composition demonstrates de Loutherbourg's theatrical approach to military painting, with dramatic lighting effects and sweeping action. His rendering of the Egyptian landscape and the military formations reflects both his dramatic sensibility and his attention to documentary detail.