Vivant Denon drawing the ruins of Hieraconpolis,

Denon took part in the expédition d’Egypte in 1798.
In 1802, he published Voyage dans la Basse et Haute
Égypte. Denon’s comments on this engraving were as follows: "The ruins of Hieraconpolis: these comprise a single gate, seriously damaged and of a form not worth preserving; around these isolated remains all one can see are large, very worn capitals, some large pieces of granite without form, and a great quantity bricks which suggest that there once existed here a town of considerable dimensions. Since all this would only have a made a sorry picture, I added elements from what used to form my magnificent train in those days, namely my servant, my black, my horse, my donkey, my camp stool (which alone was the substance of my atelier in its entirety); I drew myself in the ruins of my clothes (caused directly by my continual walking, the loss of my servants, and the lack of care and time which I was able to dedicate to my person); I was so taken up with my drawings and my journal that I thought only of them; I made sure that my portfolio was always with me, I carried it everywhere, and at night I used it as a pillow […]".