Denon, Dominique-Vivant, Baron

Denon, Dominique-Vivant, Baron (dōmēnēk`-vēväN bärôN` dənôN`), 1747–1825, French artist, writer, and archaeologist. He had a brilliant career as artist and diplomat under the ancien régime and followed Napoleon on his campaign in Egypt. In 1804 he became director-general of museums and was instrumental in bringing foreign masterpieces into the Louvre as the spoils of conquest. His accounts of his travels and his treatise on ancient monuments contain collections of his engravings of works of art. Denon was partly responsible for the design of the Vendôme Column, a monument to Napoleon.