Description

50 signed and numbered prints

The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under Napoleon and Austrian forces. A surprise attack on the main French army under General Louis Alexandre Berthier staggered French forces. Desaix and his troops arrived at the moment when the Austrians appeared victorious. “There is yet time to win another battle” he exclaimed as he led his forces directly at the enemy’s center. Desaix was killed by a musket ball at the same moment French forces won victory.

In this composition Napoleon, on horseback, indicates to Desaix, on foot with arms folded, the direction that the French counter attack should take on the afternoon of June 14, 1800. The timely arrival of Desaix’s division on the battlefield of Marengo snatched a stunning victory from certain defeat and solidified Napoleon’s position as First Consul of France.

Other notables in the painting are Napoleon’s ADC, General Berthier, seen to Napoleon’s left. Next to him and looking out to the battlefield is Francoise Lejeune, ADC to Berthier, in the uniform of the French Engineers. Lejeune was also a gifted artist and within a year of the battle of Marengo would paint an epic scene of the action. It was his painting that Keith Rocco utilized for much of the uniform details shown in this composition.