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Ecole française du XIXe siècle, vers 1810
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Ecole française du XIXe siècle, vers 1810
Portrait of a Grenadier Going into Battle
Oil on canvas 81.5 x 64.5 cm
The sky is rumbling, the intense light of the storm illuminates the face of the grenadier whom the painter captures before the battle. Holding his furry cap and bayonet against him, the darkness of the skies announces the imminence of battle, and it is easy to imagine the low rolling of the thunder echoing that of the cannons in a few moments.
On this young face, the firmness and determination of the gaze only amplify the dramatic power of the moment. The eyes express all the certainty of being part of something great, powerful, intense and historic, without a wavering back. No doubt the painter consciously set out with ambition to create a true psychology of his model in his twenties, which he succeeds in doing brilliantly.
Dressed in the garb of the grenadiers of the 17th infantry regiment, it is extremely rare to find portraits of this category of soldier. Mostly of modest origins, it is likely that the painter took a young man from his entourage as a model before he went to the front. Within the infantry, the grenadiers are the real pillars of the regiment, battle-hardened and ultimately the ones who face death.
And lancers, grenadiers in ragged gaiters, dragoons that Rome would have taken for legionnaires, Cuirassiers, cannoneers who dragged thunders, Wearing the black colback or the polished helmet, All of them, those of Friedland and those of Rivoli, Understanding that they were going to die in this feast, Saluted their god, standing in the storm. Their mouths, with a single cry, said: long live the emperor!
- Victor Hugo, "L'expiation", Les châtiments, 1853
Portrait of a Grenadier Going into Battle
Oil on canvas 81.5 x 64.5 cm
The sky is rumbling, the intense light of the storm illuminates the face of the grenadier whom the painter captures before the battle. Holding his furry cap and bayonet against him, the darkness of the skies announces the imminence of battle, and it is easy to imagine the low rolling of the thunder echoing that of the cannons in a few moments.
On this young face, the firmness and determination of the gaze only amplify the dramatic power of the moment. The eyes express all the certainty of being part of something great, powerful, intense and historic, without a wavering back. No doubt the painter consciously set out with ambition to create a true psychology of his model in his twenties, which he succeeds in doing brilliantly.
Dressed in the garb of the grenadiers of the 17th infantry regiment, it is extremely rare to find portraits of this category of soldier. Mostly of modest origins, it is likely that the painter took a young man from his entourage as a model before he went to the front. Within the infantry, the grenadiers are the real pillars of the regiment, battle-hardened and ultimately the ones who face death.
And lancers, grenadiers in ragged gaiters, dragoons that Rome would have taken for legionnaires, Cuirassiers, cannoneers who dragged thunders, Wearing the black colback or the polished helmet, All of them, those of Friedland and those of Rivoli, Understanding that they were going to die in this feast, Saluted their god, standing in the storm. Their mouths, with a single cry, said: long live the emperor!
- Victor Hugo, "L'expiation", Les châtiments, 1853