#dutertre

Le Général-en-Chef by André Dutertre.

Jules-César Savigny (1777-1851)

Savigny worked closely with the artists to supervise preparation of the plates (for Description de l’Egypte). But Savigny was unable to write annotations for the plates. A neurological disorder struck him in the 1820s and made it impossible for him to work, or even be spoken to about work. Although he did not go blind and could read for short periods, he could not tolerate light and had to wear a veil of black netting. A young naturalist, Victor Audouin, who had not been a member of the Egyptian scientific contingent and was not allowed to speak to Savigny, was asked to identify and describe Savigny’s illustrations based on secondary sources and the evidence of the drawings themselves. Savigny was not supposed to be told of this arrangement, but somehow he learned of it. His own copy of the Description de l’Égypte, which has been preserved, is annotated with his many objections and corrections to Audouin’s frequent mistakes. Link

Martin-Roch-Xavier Estève, payeur-général de l'armée d'Orient par André Dutertre

Napoleon said on St. Helena: «Il m’était chaudement attaché ; il m’eût conduit mon trésor par force à Fontainebleau. S’il ne l’eût pu, il l’aurait enterré, jeté dans les rivières, distribué, plutôt que de le livrer.»

“He was warmly attached to me; he would have taken my treasure by force to Fontainebleau. If he could not, he would have buried it, thrown it in the rivers, distributed it, rather than hand it over."

Here’s another pic of him in 1806:

[André] Dutertre was neither a scientist nor an archaeologist; he was a very skillful artist who drew, then engraved, a large number of ancient monuments for the Description de l'Egypte. He also drew a series of portraits of members of the Egyptian expedition. The following anecdote shows how much he cared about this collection of portraits. When Degenettes returned from the Syrian expedition, he asked him: — How is so-and-so doing? — He died... — Devil! it's a pity, I didn’t get his portrait. And so and so? — He died too! —That guy, it’s okay, I have his.

Andre Dutertre – Scientist of the Day

André Dutertre, a French artist, was born June 9, 1753.