Lot 75
  • 75

Antoine-Jean, Baron Gros

Estimate
450,000 - 550,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Antoine-Jean, Baron Gros
  • Bonaparte's Arab Stallion, "Marengo"
  • oil on canvas

Literature

Gerrit Walczak, "David, der General, Carteaux und sein König: Zum Reiterbildnis Bonapartes am Großen St. Bernhard," Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch, 73, 2012 (to be published in December 2012).

Condition

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is in lovely and fresh condition. The canvas is un-lined. The paint layer has been fairly recently cleaned and restored, and the painting should be hung as is. This is a fairly quick oil sketch and the bushiness of the pigment in the darker color particularly, is intentional and undamaged. In the saddle the deep browns have weakened slightly with drying but they do not appear to have been abraded or damaged in cleaning, and the general impression of the painting is that it is in excellent condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Catalogue Note

Originally trained as a neoclassical painter under the tutelage of Jacques-Louis David, Antoine-Jean Baron Gros is perhaps best known as a history painter of Napoleon Bonaparte. Deeply impressed by an encounter with Napoleon in Italy in 1796, the artist spent much of his career following the army to battle to create some of the most iconographic military portraits of the era. Gros quickly became one of the most important painters of propaganda art of his time; of the many artists working in the field, he received the most commissions for large paintings depicting inspiring contemporary battle scenes.

Bonaparte's Arab Stallion, "Marengo" (1801) is a work of notable significance. A study for the artist's eventual and highly acclaimed military portrait, Bonaparte Distributing a Sword After the Battle of Marengo (1803),1 this important preparatory work reveals particular insight on Gros's creative process and evolution of style. In it, Gros employs quick, airy brushstrokes and vibrant colors to depict an impressive stallion, believed to be the famous grey Arabian Marengo Napoleon rode to victory in the battle of the same name in 1800. Napoleon's affinity for purebred Arabian horses was well known by the time of his Egyptian campaign of 1789-1799, the horse no doubt selected from his personal stable of about thirty horses. Likely one of Napoleon's favorites, the powerful and noble purebred Arabian was featured in two of the five versions of Jacques-Louis David's famous Bonaparte Crossing the Alps at the Saint-Bernard Pass as well.  Its elegant stature and noble musculature would be matched by the addition of Napoleon himself in the final version of the painting, exhibited at the Salon of 1802 to great success. The painting garnered much admiration from critics and painters such as Etienne-Jean Delécluze, who remarked, "(...) Gros's Bonaparte, painted with easy brushstrokes and audacious tints and shown with his white satin horse, was very appealing to both the public and the young artists. David did not hesitate to proclaim in the Salon that this work of quality would make an impact on the development of the Parisian school where color was too much neglected. Girodet, Gérard and all the acknowledged painters were unanimous to praise Gros's achievement."2

Those "easy brushstrokes" and "audacious tints" noted by Delécluze hint at Romantic ideals that quickly distinguished Gros from his contemporaries. Such lively brushstrokes and vivid colors marked a strong departure from the traditionally tighter qualities embraced in popular neoclassical history paintings, such as Jacques-Louis David's decidedly more idealized Bonaparte Crossing the Alps at the Saint-Bernard Pass (1800-1801).3 Even more so than in his final version, it is the details in Gros's preparatory work which reveal the artist's exploration of an alternative technique. The free and airy, rapidly executed brushstrokes in Gros's study—perhaps most salient in the stallion's textured coat, wispy bridle, and lightly sketched tail—attest to the artist's impressive and ambitious experiment, and reveal an essential phase of his creative process. Indeed because the painter often skipped preparatory studies entirely, his meticulous attention to this equestrian portrait study suggests a work of notable importance.

In the final version, the painter's remarkable lightness of touch is tempered to conform to his overall vision of Napoleon. Details in the elegant gilded saddle are hidden beneath the noble Napoleon, who is figured from an earlier portrait by Gros, his 1797 Bonaparte at the Bridge of the Arcola.4 The horizon line has been slightly elevated to include a view of additional soldiers in the background, and a group of soldiers have joined Napoleon at his side to receive swords of honor on the occasion of their braveness. As Napoleon's steed comes to a halt, the stallion, now pictured with a fuller, longer tail, appears full of energy and vigor. This robust and powerful imperial creature, a symbol of aristocracy under Napoleonic rule, is rendered by Gros with a handling of color and detail as elegant and splendid as the steed itself.


1.  Musée National des Châteaux de Malmaison et de Bois-Préau.
2.  E.J. Delécluze, Louis David, son école et son temps, Paris, 1855, ed. 1983, p. 290.
3.  Musée National des Châteaux de Malmaison et de Bois-Préau.
4.  Musée National du Château de Versailles; sketch in the Louvre. David O'Brien, Antoine-Jean Gros, peintre de Napoléon, 2006, Editions Gallimard pour l'édition française, p. 84.