Dominique Vivant Denon, baron, a French archaeologist, born at Chalon-sur-Saone, Jan. 4, 1747, died in Paris, April 27, 1825. He was sent to Paris to study law, but devoted his time chiefly to art and literature. He gained favor at the court of Louis XV., was employed on several embassies, and after the death of that king was for a time minister to Switzerland. Going subsequently to Naples in the suite of the ambassador, he spent several years in Italy, studying the monuments of ancient art, forming collections of remarkable specimens, and making copies of others. Here also he studied etching and mezzotint engraving. He engaged with the abb6 de Saint-Non to superintend the preparation of a Voyage pittoresque de Naples et Sicile; but having a dispute with him, he brought out the work independently. The portion relating to continental Italy appeared in the notes to a French translation of the journey of Swinburne, and that relating to Sicily and Malta in a separate volume. Having returned to Paris during the revolution (after a second stay in Italy), he met Bonaparte at the house of Mme. de Beauharnais, and was chosen by him to accompany the expedition to Egypt in the capacity both of a savant and artist. In 1802 appeared his Voyage dans la basse et la haute Egypte, profusely illustrated by his own hand.

It was first published in two large folio volumes, but there are several editions of smaller size. He also took the chief part in the preparation of the Description de l Egypte, under the auspices of the Egyptian institute, of which he was a member. Bonaparte made him inspector general of the museums of France, and he accompanied the army in the various campaigns of the emperor, selecting the works of art which were gathered to enrich the galleries of the Louvre. On the second restoration he retired to private life, and spent some years in collecting and arranging the material for a history of art, which was finished by Amaury Duval (Monuments des arts du des-sin chez les peuples tant anciens que modernes, 4 vols, fob, 1829). Denon's own etchings number more than 300.