Marshal Ney Supporting the Rear Guard During the Retreat from Moscow (1856, by Adolphe Yvon 1817-1893). From the Manchester Art Gallery.Temperatures of below -25°C killed as many as the enemy, and by December 1812 only 13,000 of the Grand Army remained.
A very large painting, it looks much better in the original, and conveys the horror of that campaign all too well.
I have been meaning to post this for some time. I have put it on now to complement the thoughts by Miss Elizabeth (The Emperor and I) on snow in Holland, which seems a little rarer now than it was in the days of Brueghel.
It is about the only painting that I can recall from the Manchester Gallery that has any Napoleonic theme. Liverpool seems a little better in this respect.
Thank you, John!
ReplyDeleteI love that painting.
Ney was a hero in Russia, such a shame he screwed up at Waterloo.