The Allure of Empire: Art in the service of French imperialism

Porterfield's arguement in his book is that the huge battle paintings and the public display of archaeological spoils were both part of the visual culture which promoted modern French imperialism. The principal theory is that France did not fall into imperialism but that imperialism was the result of an official cultureand that the allure of empire derived in part from that empire's function as a mask for, and displacement of, the Revolution.
 
Contents:
1 The Obelisk at the Place de la Concorde 13
2 Paintings of the Egyptian Campaign 43
3 The Musee d'Egypte 81
4 The Women of Algiers 117
Afterword 143
Notes 153
Bibliography 215
Index 235
 
Todd Porterfield is Canada Research Chair in 19th Century Art History, Université de Montréal