Bonaparte, General in Chief of the armée d’Orient

This bust of the young Bonaparte, the first ever made, was commissioned by the Directory and done from life in Egypt.
The plaster model was presented at the Salon of 1798 with the following inscription: Portrait du général Buonaparte, fait d'après nature (Portrait of General Buonaparte, taken from life). Immediately redone in marble and then in bronze, it was shown again shown at the Salons of 1800 and 1802 under the title Buste du Premier Consul (Bust of the First Consul). In 1803, town of Lille bought a second copy which was destroyed in the main square on 18 january 1816.