'Extirpation of the Plagues of Egypt; - Destruction of Revolutionary Crocodiles; - or - The British Hero cleansing ye mouth of ye Nile (caricature)'

Hand-coloured print 'Extirpation of the Plagues of Egypt'.

This is a simple but effective celebration of Nelson’s resounding victory over the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile on 1 August 1798. A colossal Nelson stands in the mouth of the river capturing and culling tri-coloured crocodiles. The biblical plagues of Egypt of the title are transformed into crocodiles, which stand in turn for the French ships taken or destroyed during the battle: one with flames issuing from its jaws evidently represents ‘L’Orient’, whose dramatic explosion was the focus of many contemporary paintings and prints of the battle.

Unlike Gillray’s satire of Nelson as ‘The Hero of the Nile’ (see PAF3888), published a few weeks later, this print shows him, in line with contemporary newspaper reports as the unqualified British hero, a modern demi-god, combining Moses with Hercules.

Object Details

ID: PAF3893
Collection: Fine art
Type: Print
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Gillray, James; Humphrey, H.
Events: French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile, 1798
Date made: Published 6 October 1798
Exhibition: Broadsides! Caricature and the Navy 1775–1815
People: Nelson, Horatio
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Mount: 406 mm x 560 mm; Primary support: 301 mm x 408 mm
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