Paris -Algiers, 1813/15 -1875 · Empire, ceremony and colonial memory

Napoleon III and Eugénie receive the Kabyle leaders in Algiers: a dynamic sketch prepares an immense official canvas now lost and forces us to question the colonial staging.

Isidore Pils was born in Paris in 1813 or 1815 and died in 1875. A recognized painter of military subjects, he prepared around 1862 -1867 the Reception of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie by the Kabyle leaders in Algiers on September 18, 1860. The oil sketch on canvas measures 64.1 × 109.9 cm. It was linked to an order for Versailles almost fifteen meters long, intended to commemorate the imperial voyage to Algeria, conquered by France from 1830. The large canvas disappeared, perhaps destroyed during the Paris Commune in 1830. The large canvas disappeared, perhaps destroyed during the Paris Commune in 1830. The large canvas disappeared, perhaps destroyed during the Paris Commune in 1830. The large canvas disappeared, perhaps destroyed during the Paris Commune in 1830. The large canvas disappeared, perhaps destroyed during the Paris Commune in 1830. The large canvas disappeared, perhaps destroyed during the Paris Commune in 1830. The large canvas disappeared, perhaps destroyed during the Paris Commune in 1830. The large canvas disappeared, perhaps destroyed during the Paris Commune in 1830. The large canvas disappeared, perhaps destroyed during the Paris Commune in 1830. The large canvas disappeared, perhaps destroyed during the Paris Commune in 1830. The large canvas french power as an image of understanding. Today, it must also be read as an official fabrication of colonial domination, attentive to the people represented but structured by the imperial point of view. The "Isidore Pils" selection notably compares Sketch for "Reception of Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie by the Kabyle leaders in Algiers on September 18, 1860. Its reading favors the atmosphere.

The sketch saves the lost composition, but it also reveals how an empire wanted to be seen.