Antoine-Jean Gros in Italy Author(s): David O'Brien Source: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 137, No. 1111 (Oct., 1995), pp. 651-660 Published by: The Burlington Magazine Publications, Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/886697 . Accessed: 02/06/2011 07:48 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=bmpl. . Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

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DAVID O'BRIEN

Antoine-JeanGros ALTHOUGH

it is well-known

that Antoine-Jean

in

Italy*

Gros's early

artistic success depended heavily upon the inspiration and patronage of Napoleon Bonaparte, the extent to which this was the case has not been fully appreciated. Our knowledge of Gros's early career stems mainly from two nineteenth-century biographies that drew heavily on letters the artist wrote to his mother while he was in Italy from 1793 to 1800.1 The letters passed from one owner to another until they were dispersed in 1954 by a Paris dealer and their whereabouts became difficult to track.2In 1978 Philippe Bordes published those that had surfaced by then, most of them from the period before Gros first met Bonaparte in December 1796.3 Using letters that have subsequently come to light and have been acquired by the Fondation Custodia, Paris, which has generously made them available, it is now possible to construct a more detailed picture of the artist's early association with Bonaparte and his circle, revealing how the Revolution altered the horizon of creative possibilities for an ambitious young Davidian, transforming him into a passionate propagandist for Bonaparte. Gros had gone to Italy to complete his training as a history painter.4When a star pupil in David's studio, he must surely have expected the prix de Rome. By the beginning of 1793, however, the futures of both the Academies royale de peinture et de sculture and the prix were threatened by the Revolution, and official permission to leave France was becoming increasingly difficult to obtain.5 Gros's only hope of visiting Italy was to travel south immediately, using his own means. While preparing to leave, he learned of the sack of the French Academy in Rome on 13thJanuary 1793. It is a measure of his ambition that instead of delaying his voyage he set out in early February for the next best repository of classical and renaissance art, Florence.6 The letters published by Bordes reveal that Gros's first years in Italy were miserable. In Florence he lived in penury, unable to support himself on the few portrait commissions he could find, and byJune 1794 he was destitute. The French plenipotentiary in Florence, FranCois Cacault, paid off his debts and sent him home by way of Genoa,7 where he received the news of David's imprisonment. Realising that his status as a promising student of David no longer carried its

'I am gratefulto Mariavan BergeGerbaudof the FondationCustodia,Paris,forpermission to publish extractsfrom Gros'sletters in the Collection FritsLugt there. I wash to thankJoelIsaacsonand Thomas Crowfor suggestionsthatgreatlyimproved this essay.I have also benefited from the generous advice of Martin Powers and David Bien and the kind assistanceof R6gis Michel and Hans Buijs.The research for this articlewas fundedby fellowshipsfromthe MetropolitanMuseumof Art and the Horace H. RackhamSchool of GraduateStudiesat the Universityof Michigan. 'J.-.B. DELESTRE: Gros,sa vie et ses ouvrages,2nd ed., Paris [1867]; and j. TRIPIER LE

FRANC: Histoiredela vieetdela mortduBaronGros,Paris [1880]. 2On the history of the letters, see P. BORDES:Antoine-Jean Gros en Italie (1793-1800): Lettres,une allegorier6volutionnaireet un portrait',Bulletindela Societe del'Histoire del'ArtFranfais,annee1978 [1980], pp.221-22. 'Ibid.,pp.232-44. 4Accordingto his firstbiographers,Gros'sdeparturefor Italywas precipitatedby his supposedRoyalistdistastefor the Revolutionand by fearsof persecutionby his colleague FrancoisGerard,who was then servingon the RevolutionaryTribunal.(See de touteslesecoles.Ecolefranfaise, c. BLANC: Antoine-JeanGros', in Histoiredespeintres Paris [1865], III, pp.2-3; DELESTRE,op.cit.at note 1 above, pp. 17-18; and TRIPIERLE

1. Study forBonaparte onthebridge atArcole, by Antoine-JeanGros. 1796. 73 by 59 cm. (Louvre,Paris).

former guarantees and that there was little work available in Paris, he decided to stay in Genoa hoping to earn money for his widowed and bankrupt mother by painting portraits and miniatures. A passage from an unpublished letter to her reveals how humiliating he found this: de ce qu'onattenddemoi, Ne meparleplusje t'enprie dereputation, de ceuxqui ont vu quelques-unes et de ce queveulentbienrapporter mes tetespuisquej'ensuis reduitla et qu'il nefaut plus m'abuser. D'aussi riantsespoirsn'etaientnaturelsa avoirqu'autempsdepapa. dansla classequ'ilavait Toutet touta changedepuis.Je suisretombe

1 above,pp.72-75.) Gros seems to have harbouredno ill feelings towardG6rardduringhis firsttwo yearsin Italy,however.He repeatedlyasked his mother to rememberhim to Gerardand expressedhis regretsupon hearing of the death of G6rard'smother.Their fallingout seems to have occurredin February autableau', 1795, when he angrilycomplainedto his motherthat G6rardfaisaitombre a phrase that is admittedlymysterious.See his letter to his mother,5 Vent6se an 3 [23rd February 1795], Paris, FondationCustodia, Collection Frits Lugt (cited in these notes as FC), inv.no. 1991-A.500). 5In 1792 Gros enteredbut failedto win the contestfor the prix.Anothercontestwas

FRANC, op.cit.at note

held in 1793, but the prix was cancelled in 1794 (see TRIPIERLE FRANC, op.cit.at note

1 above,pp.54-61). 6He seems to have been aided by David: Gros's early biographerJ.-B. Delestre had in his possession 'Sixpiecesdessectionset comitisconstatantqueGrosa refule 26janvier 1793, gracea un certjficatdespeintresDavid et [Antoine]Renou,unpasseportpour se rendreen Italie oi des Cabinetsdefeu deM. il va etudierlapeinture.'(see Cataloguedes lettresautographesprovenant Dromontet deM. Delestre,Paris [1871], no.52).

7See Cacault'sletter to Gros'smother,publishedin BORDES, loc.cit.at note 2 above, pp.236-37.

651

GROS

IN

ITALY

onthebridge 2. Bonaparte atArcole, by Antoine-JeanGros. 1797. 201 by 146 cm. (Mus6enationaldu Chateau,Versailles).

voulum'evitertu sais! e vais etreetje suis unpeintresaute-ruisseau j'avais entravele bonheur.8 etpourmontourment, Since early childhood, Gros had been directed by his father, a painter of miniatures, towards the grander career of history painter,9and he chafed at the limits placed on his career by economic necessity. He nevertheless persevered in Genoa and adopted a lifestyle common to other Davidians stranded in Italy, relying on the generosity of wealthy families for his livelihood and cultivating relationships with French officials in the hope of landing commissions. Though he dreamt of travelling to 'legrandet sublimeatelierdeRome'(which was once again safe for French citizens), he seems to have been reconciled to his predicament.'0 In a maudlin letter accompanying a sum of money for his mother he described his situation as follows: Si vu ta maladiecettepetitesommeva plus vitequetu ne voudrais, nousen referons d'autres. Je dis nouscarmaintenantjet'associed ma 8Letterto his mother, 16th May an 4 [1796], FC, inv.no. 1989-A.782. 9See TRIPIERLE FRANC, Op.cit.at note 1 above, pp. 13-5 2.

"'Letterof 25thJuly an 4 [1796], FC, inv.no. 1989-A.783:'Sitotquejeneferaiplusde bienquejesuisstr dem'acquitter mieux portraits, je netrouverai personne pourmefairetravailler del'historique choses itaientbonnes 2 quelques manger quedureste.Si lesrentes qu'avecplaisirj'irai

652

peintureet tu neseraspasla moinscontribuante. Jusqu'dpresentvacillantpar l'ennui,le degout,sans motifque le moi qu'ontraineapres soi quifait tantfaireauxautres;cemoiquim'ennuietant.II n)yavait a contribution quela necessitequimettaitfaiblement mespetitstalents et bientotj'etaispret a leurdireMessieursvousetestropbons.Je vous derangez pas davantage.C'estbienassezpourmoi... A presentc'est biendfferent.Je peux etreutilea mieuxqu'dmoi.Je leveraisureux plus d'impotsqueje n'aijamais tachedefaire.Enfintu travailleras desormaisavecmoi! Vasnousdeviendrons heureux; plusje vais,plus moncoeur,fait,necessairementfait je sensle videaffreuxqu'approuve Si dansquelquestempsjepuis t'etre pour cherir,mais!/!S'epancher! utile,parles,ecris,ecriste dis-je.Si danstes lettresoupar la distance de tempstumefaisaispenserquetu veuxmemenager, quetu crainsde megener,ceseraitunpoisonpourmoi.Je t'embrasse commedema vie embrassee."l je ne t'ai si affectueusement As we shall see, the depression evident in this letter would become habitual for Gros when his artistic ambitions went unfulfilled. mespetitssolsdanslegrandetsublime atelierdeRomequevoicirenduauxfranfaisquoiqu'il me tresprudent soitpasencore dy aller.' "Letterto his mother,3eme jour complimentairean 4 [17th September 1796], FC, inv.no. 1991-A.505.

GROS IN ITALY

At this point Gros met Napoleon Bonaparte, then in the midst of the first Italian Campaign. Learning thatJosephine planned to visit Genoa, Gros asked Guillaume-Charles Faypoult, the French representative in the city, to introduce him deparvenirafaire leportraitdugeneral, to her 'dansla seuleesperance medonnaitdesa physionomie dontla gloireet les dMtails l'on nefaique saient qu'irriterce desire'.12 Though his admiration for Bonaparte was sincere, Gros realised that such a commission could bring him enormous prestige and access to the affluent society surrounding the general. He even expressed the extrava[deses] victoires'.'3 quelques-unes gant hope that he might 'composer Gros carefully prepared for his meeting with Josephine, severe, bringing with him a portrait 'd'unhommed'unephysionomie direqu'etaita peupresBonaparte'.14He was etfait commej'entendais elated when she asked him to travel back with her to Milan. In Milan Gros received Napoleon's permission to paint his portrait, and was invited to live with the Bonapartes at the Casa Serbelloni.15 The portrait seems to have progressed rapidly, for it was apparently finished by 14th February 1797.16 Gros chose - or was asked - to paint Bonaparte leading the charge at Arcole on 15th November 1796, an action that soon became a cornerstone of the Napoleonic legend. (It is often asserted that Gros was at the battle itself, but the letters prove that he was then still in Genoa.) The preparatory sketch (Fig.1) is now more famous than the portrait itself (Fig.2), perhaps justly so when we consider its almost unprecedented pictorial bravura which so effectively suggests the drama and energy of the subject. Equally remarkable, however, is the way in which both sketch and finished painting play with the conventions of portraiture. Instead of the customary relatively inactive sitter, they depict Bonaparte leading the charge in a fierce battle - a departure from tradition which reveals a great deal about the portrait's purpose. Bonaparte described his heroics at Arcole in a letter released to the press as follows:

at 3. Bonaparte onthebridge Arcole,by Thomas Piroli afterAntoine-JeanGros. 1797. Etchingand aquatint.(Bibliotheque nationale,Paris).

de larmeependanttoutela Ce village[Arcole]arretal'avant-garde du journee.Cefut en vainquetouslesgeneraux,sentantl'importance a la tete,pourobligernos colonnesa passerle temps,seprecipiterent petit pont d'Arcole:tropde couragenuisit, ils furentpresquetous mis horsde Verdier, Bon, Verne,etLasnes,furent blessis;lesgene'raux undrapeau,leportajusqu'al'extremite combat.Augereau empoignant dupont ... et il restala plusieursminutessansproduireaucuneffet. Cependantilfallait passercepont, oufaire un detourdeplusieurs lieues,quinousauraitfaitmanquertoutenotreoperation. Je my portai moi-meme:jedemandaiaux soldatss'ils etaientencoreles vainqueursde Lodi. Ma presenceproduisaientsur les troupesun mouvement qui me decidaencorea tenterle passage. [Two more aforcerle villagedefront....17 generals fall.] Ilfallut renoncer This passage glorifies Bonaparte's role to the point of falsification. According to other first-hand accounts, his attempt to lead a charge was actually stopped well before the bridge when he was jostled by retreating troops and knocked into a

2Themeeting with Bonaparteand the eventsleading to it are describedin a letter to his mother of 16 Frimairean 5 [5th December 1796], Paris,Musee du Louvre, inv. no. BC b5 L20 (partiallypublished in DELESTRE, op.cit.at note 1 above, pp.33-35). Even beforemeetingBonaparte,Groshad writtenan excitedletterto his motheron 8th Augustan 4 [1796], enthusiasticallydescribingBonaparte'svictories near Mantua (FC, inv.no. 1991-A.504). 'Letter to his mother,6th December 1796, cited at note 12 above. '4Ibid. 'Ibid. '6Thisis the date of a letter from Claude-LouisBertholletcommanding Gros, on

deMatignon, 4. Marechal Charles-Auguste by HyacintheRigaud. 1704. 147 by 113 cm. (StaatlicheKunsthalle,Karlsruhe).

Bonaparte'sorders,to go to Bolognato begin servingwith the Commissiondes arts. (Published in TRIPIER

LE

FRANC, op.cit.at note 1 above, p. 147). In the letter Berthollet

denotreheros'.In a lettells Gros thatJos6phinehad requestedhim to bring 'leportrait ter to his mother of 22 Thermidor an 5 [9th August 1797], three weeks after his returnto Milan, Grosspeaksof paintinga full-lengthportraitof Bonaparteas a pendant to a full-lengthportraitofJos6phine (FC, inv. no. 1989-A.785).He notes that he had alreadycompleteda portraitof the generalthatwas jusqu'au dessous desgenoux' (undoubtedlythe portraitin Versailles;Fig.2). de "Letter to the Directory, 19th November 1796, published in Correspondance VAILLANTetal., Paris [1858-70], II, pp.147-48. Napoleon1",ed. J.-.B.-P.

653

GROS IN ITALY

5. Crossing thebridge atArcole, by AlexandreChaponnierafterLembert. 1798. Etching.33.5 by 51 cm. (Biblioth6quenationale,Paris).

ditch. Some officers extracted him and minutes later, covered with mud, he borrowed a horse and left to change his clothes.18

It is telling that Bonaparte chose to turn the story, despite its potentially embarassing aspects, into a centrepiece of his propaganda, especially since the battle was not decisive and his actions failed to. end the stalemate of the first day. Two more days of fighting were needed before the French could cross the bridge. If Marmont was telling the truth when he claimed that Arcole was 'la seulefois,pendantla campagned'Italie, quej'aievu legeneralBonaparteexposea un veritableetgranddangerpersonnel',then perhaps this was the best story Bonaparte had for constructing a certain image of himself.19 An important aspect of that image was summed up by one of Bonaparte's generals, Antoine-Frangois Andreossi, when he claimed that Bonaparte's actions resembled those of Caesar dismounting at Munda and running to the front lines to rally his troops.20The Arcole story was useful in its demonstration of Bonaparte's leadership and the loyalty of his soldiers. Bonaparte himself emphasised this by noting that Augereau and a number of other generals had bravely attempted to lead the charge across the bridge, but made no impression on the troops. At the same time, the Arcole story does more than fit Bonaparte into a long and prestigious line of heroic commanders, for the toposof the general rallying his soldiers through his example had a distinctly Revolutionary resonance in 1797. By seizing a flag and marching out before his troops, Bonaparte momentarily exchanged his position as

8For first-hand accounts, see j. KRYN:Le Petit tambourd'Arcole,Paris [1987], pp.221-35; M. REINHARD:Avec Bonaparteen Italie d'apresles lettresineditesde son aide de campJoseph Sulkowski,Paris [1946], pp. 178-79; A.-F.-L. VIESSEDE MARMONT:Memoires dumarechalMarmont, ducdeRaguse, de1792 a 1841, 3rded., Paris[1857], I, pp.236-37. For a summaryof many other first-handaccounts, see J. DURIEUX:'Bonaparteau II, [1912], pp.182-89; and E. TROLARD: napoleoniennes, pont d'Arcole',Revuedesetudes De Montenotte aupontd'Arcole, Paris[1893], pp.463-79. 1'MARMONT, ed.cit.at note 18 above, II, p.237. 20See KRYN, op.cit.at note 18 above,p.221.

the citizen-soldierideal of the FrenchRevolutionaryarmy,see G. BEST:Warand in Revolutionary Society Europe,1770-1870, New Yorkand Oxford [1986], pp.82-98; et la Revolution armee:Les soldats-citoyens franfaise,Paris J.-P. BERTAUD: La Revolution 2On

[1979]; j. LYNN: The Bayonetsof the Republic,Urbana and Chicago [1984]; P. PARET:

War:Essayson Clausewitzand theHistoryof MilitaryPower,Princeton Understanding [1992], pp.53-74; and s. SIEGFRIED:'NakedHistory:The Rhetoricof MilitaryPaintFrance',ArtBulletin,LXV [1993], pp.251-53. Siegfrieddising in Postrevolutionary cusseshow the citizen-soldieridealwas embodiedin Revolutionarypropagandaand

654

General-en-chef de l'armee d'Italie for that of a lower officer, exemplifying the bravery expected in all ranks and becoming at once a model infantryman and a general of demonstrated distinction. This behaviour was completely in keeping with the Revolutionary ideals claimed for the French army. Forced to rely on volunteers and conscripts for its fighting force, the French government began in the early 1790s to tout the selfmotivation and patriotism of its citizen-soldiers, and to celebrate a new form of military organisation in which officers supposedly fought alongside common soldiers and where rank was determined by merit. In its heyday this vision led to the practice of having ordinary soldiers elect officers. Soldiers of every rank would, in theory, distinguish themselves and inspire others through their willingness to risk their lives in a messianic quest to spread the ideals of the French Revolution. In Gros's painting, it is such a figure, carrying the revolutionary flag, who shakes his troops out of their fearful stupor and inspires them to act courageously.21 The popular appeal of this sort of heroic feat had been clearly demonstrated six months before the Battle of Arcole at Lodi, where Bonaparte's Chief of Staff Alexandre Berthier and a number of other generals led a successful charge across a bridge into heavy enemy fire. Clausewitz, who was then a budding student of Napoleonic warfare, said of the battle: 'Ohne Widerrede hat keineWaffentatein solchesErstaunenin wie dieser Europaerregt UbergangiiberdieAdda', going on to sugthat the gest propaganda value of this event far outweighed its military value.22 The crossing was recounted time and again in the press and reproduced in numerous popular prints. One of these, commissioned at Bonaparte's request, by Faypoult (the man who introduced Gros to Josephine), showed Bonaparte leading the troops across the bridge.23 Bonaparte himself never laid claim to the Lodi charge, but he was one of the first to connect it with Arcole, and the two events quickly became seen as complementary.24 Berthier's actions at Lodi, according to Bonaparte, indicated his willingness to assume the role of the common soldier: 'L'intrepide Berthier... a etedanscettejournee cannonier, cavalier,etgrenadier'.2 Most prints of the Lodi crossing depicted one or more generals leading a charge across the bridge toward a group of Austrian soldiers. The same formula was used in images of Arcole, though in this case printmakers were faced with a choice of two different charges, Augereau's or Bonaparte's. Sometimes they resolved this problem by having the two generals cross simultaneously (Fig.5). Given the rivalry between the two men, it seems likely that they or their admirers com-

in Gros'sBattleofNazareth of 1801. 22C. VON CLAUSEWITZ: Hinterlassene Werkedes Generals Carl von Clausewitz, Berlin

[1832-37], IV p.95. 23Ina letter of 13th May 1796 Bonaparte asked Faypoult to have the charge engravedbut without specifyingthat he shouldbe shown at the head of the troops. See Correspondance deJVapoleon 1",ed.cit.at note 17 above,p.332.Jacques-LouisDavid considereddoing a paintingof Lodi and wroteto Bonapartefor a drawingof the site LouisDavid,Paris[1880], p.335). Bonaparteproudlyinformed (seej. DAVID:LePeintre Grosof David'srequest.(See Gros'sletterto his motherof 6th December 1796 cited at note 12 above.) at note 18 above,p.8. Bona240nthe pairingof Lodi and Arcole,see REINHARD, op.Cit. parte linked the two battlesin the letter cited at note 17 above. Some writerseven confused the two events, and had Bonaparteleading the charge at Lodi, as in j. BIGRAT:Buonaparte divoileauxyeuxdela France,n.p. [1797], p. 13. 25Letterto the Directory,11th May 1796, publishedin Correspondance deNapoleon 1, ed.cit.at note 17 above,I, p.314.

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IN

missioned competing prints, and certainly Augereau's supporters commissioned a painting of Arcole by Charles Thevenin (Fig.6).26Drawing on the iconography of popular prints and Anglo-American battle pictures for details such as the dramatically fallen figure in the foreground and the rigid line of soldiers all sharing the same pose, Thevenin exceeded the journalistic detail of printed versions of the event in his meticulous depiction of the clothing, bridge, and landscape. By contrast, Gros drew on a longstanding tradition of military portraiture. During the ancienregimehigh-ranking military men were often depicted at three-quarter length standing before a distant battle, siege, or manoeuvre, as de in Hyacinthe Rigaud's Portraitof MarechalCharles-Auguste In the sitter looks such typically Matignon(Fig.4). portraits directly at the viewer, though his torso is turned slightly away, and sometimes he is shown pointing or holding a baton to demonstrate leadership. While Gros's portrait springs from such conventions, it alters them significantly to play up Bonaparte's heroic engagement. The general is shown striding forcefully toward the enemy, his torso fully to the left and his head turned to view the troops behind him. The tension of the moment when Bonaparte exposes himself between the two opposing armies, finds a formal analogy in the torsion of his body twisting out through his arm like a coiled spring and mirroring the helical form of the flag. In its depiction of the setting the picture becomes either abstract or intensely emblematic. The backdrop is for the most part illegible. While the surrounding landscape dissolves into fiery patches of red and orange, Bonaparte miraculously remains intact, fearless. His sword and flag summarise in the simplest terms the means and justification of his activity. This spare iconography forces our attention back to the man himself, and especially to his face, famous - even before the dissemination of his portraits - for its youth, severity, and beauty. Questions of realism that are begged by Thevenin's insistence on the mundane circumstances of the event are sidestepped by Gros's disregard for secondary detail. Gros lifts his subject out of everyday reality into a more mythic realm. Gros recognised that a portrait of the hero whose phenomenal military success in Italy had seized all Europe's attention could become a public image which would establish his own reputation.27Bonaparte at Arcole was a subject full of the drama and significance found in history paintings. During this same period Gros's close friends and fellow Davidians Francois Gerard and Anne-Louis Girodet had begun exhibiting ambitious, uncommissioned portraits in the Salon in order to display their unemployed talent for classical history painting.28 Similar motivations, combined with an honest admiration for Bonaparte, must have inspired Gros to push back the limits of portraiture.

26See F. MACEDE LEPINAY:'Autour de "La Fete de la F6deration" Charles Thevenin

et la Revolution 1789-1799', Revuede I'art,LXXXIII [1989], p.58. On the rivalry between Augereau and Bonaparte, see L. COURTRAND:Augereau,I'enfantmauditde la

gloire,Paris [1990], pp.69-80. 2In the letter of 6th December 1796, cited at note 12 above, Gros spoke of finding a private buyer for the Arcole portrait, since he felt that only 'vraisgensde merite' shouldpaintthe general'pourlepublic'. This is a revealingpassage,forit indicatesthat Groswas well awarethat a portraitof Bonapartehad the potentialof being a major Salon painting.Though Grosmodestlyclaimedthat his own depictionwas not worthy of the Salon, he did exhibitit there in 1801. 28OnGerard'sand Girodet'suse of portraiturein this manner,see T. CROW:Emulation: MakingArtistsfor Revolutionary France,New Haven and London [1995], pp.224-29.

ITALY

6. Augereau at thebridge ofArcole,by CharlesTh6venin. 1798. 362 by 268 cm. (Muse6 nationaldu Chateau,Versailles).

For Bonaparte the portrait was obviously a welcome addition to his publicity campaign. He urged Gros to have it published and, on learning that the artist lacked the money to do so, paid for the engraving himself. He then gave the plate to Gros with a gratuity of 3,000 sequins.29The print was apparently a huge success, for it was issued in numerous editions and copies.30 Bonaparte's interest in the engraving reveals both his satisfaction with Gros's work and his sensitivity to the power of the printed image as propaganda. He would have been well aware of the success enjoyed by prints of recent military events, of which West's Deathof GeneralWolfewas perhaps the most popular.31Through prints he could reach beyond the Salon public to all Europe and especially to his own Army of Italy, for whom his exemplary action at Arcole had, as we have seen, a pointed meaning. The fact that one of the prints after Gros's portrait, a relatively simple print by Thomas Piroli (Fig.3), was dedicated 'a l'Armeed'Italie'can be taken

29SeeGros'sletter to his mother,23 Brumairean 6 [13th November 1797], Paris, Mus6e du Louvre,inv.no.BC b5 L21. 30A.

BERTARELLI:Iconografianapoleonica,1796-1799,

Milan [1903], pp.22-25,

has

identifiedsix plates made in the two years after Gros painted his canvas.The large engravingby Longhi (Bertarelli,no. 16) is the version Gros speaks about in his letters. 3'See A. ABRAMS:The ValiantHero:BenjaminWestandtheGrand-Style HistoryPainting, Washington[1985], p. 182. On the popularityin Franceof Englishprintsof nationa la Posteriti: French al events, see w. OLANDER:PourTransmettre PaintingandRevolution, 1774-1795, unpublished doctoral dissertation, New York University, 1983, I, d'histoire enFrancede1747 a 1785, Paris [1912], La Peinture pp.58-60; and J. LOCQUIN: pp.152-57.

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Monge. Despite the honour,he was reluctantto leave Milan, but Berthierwarnedhim not to refusethe offer.34 Thus, Gros came to participatein what was, for the Parisianpublic, the most visibleresultof Bonaparte'sItaliancampaign.35 Gros'sduties took him to Rome in mid-March 1797 and ten or twelvedayslaterhe wroteto his motherof his gratitude to Bonapartefor this opportunity: Je suis la plupartde tempsau museumdupape dontnousavonsleve de belleschoses lafleur,maisily resteencoreunequantiteinombrable a etudier. Jf'tant a Romequepoursi peu de temps,j'ai beaucoupa faire pourn'avoiromisriende voirquandj'enpartirai.Je voisdonc Rome en amateurencorebien-heureuxet bien reconnaissantau Generaldem'avoirprocure' ce bonheur maisplusjevoistoutcequiest iciplusje voisqu'ilyfaut resterdesannees.36

Six weekslaterhe was stillfreneticallyattemptingto view the artisticwealth of the city,37and he finallyleft Rome on 11th June, accompanyingto Livorno the third of six convoys of As a memberof the Commissiondes arts seizedworksof art.38 he had participatedin the selection, encasement, and shipment to Franceof workssuchas the Apollo Belvedereand the Laocoon. Gros made severaldrawingsof his convoy,and he wroteto his motheraboutthe importanceof his duties:'Jevais maisessentiel. Onnesauraittropveillerde tresennuyeux faireunvoyage pareilschefs-d'cauvre...'.39

7. LouisAlexandre Berthier, by Antoine-JeanGros. 1797. (Privatecollection,Domaine de Grosbois).

as an indicationthat the Revolutionarymeanings of Gros's image were not lost on Bonaparte'spropagandists.32 Just as Gros was beginninghis portrait,the general asked him to serve on the Commissiondes arts, the body formed to select and transportItalian art treasuresback to France. Bonaparteattachedenormousimportanceto thisproject.He specified confiscationsin peace treaties, spoke often of his conquestsin letters releasedto the press,.and even paid for Gros'sfirstreactionto the shipmentof seizedworksto Paris.33 the appointmentwas surprise,since it placedhim in the company of suchestablishedartistsand intellectualsasJean-Guillaume Moitte, Claude-Louis Berthollet, and Gaspard "Bonapartemade unprecedenteduse of newspapersto gain the loyalty of his soldiers:(see M.MARTIN: LesOrigines delapressemilitaire enFrance(1770-1799), Vincennes new edition, Paris ou le mythedu sauveur, Napoleon, [1975], pp.296ff;and j. TULARD: [1987], pp.83-85). It is not surprisingthat he would use printsto the same end. "See among otherpublications,P.MAINARDI:Assuringthe Empireof the Future:the 1798 Fete de la Liberte',ArtJournal,XXXXVII [1989], pp.155-63; E. POMMIER: Doctrines et dibatsde la Revolution L'Artde la liberte: franfaise,Paris [1991], pp.397-466 'La commissionpour la recherchedes objetsde scienceset artsen and M.-L.BLUMER: LXXXVII [1934], pp.62-88 and 222-59. Italie (1796-1797), LaRivolutionfranfaise, 34Grosdescribesthe detailsof the appointmentin a letter to his mother,20 Niv6se an 5 [9thJanuary1797], FC, inv.no. 1991-A.506. "The arrivalof the booty in Pariswas celebratedwith a majorfestival,and details of the transportationof the artworkwere constantlyappearing in the press. See op.cit.at note 33 above, MAINARDI,loc.cit.at note 33 above, passim;POMMIER, loc.cit.at note 33 above,pp.237-55. pp.397-466; and BLUMER, 36Letterto his mother, 11 Germinal an 5 [31st March 1797], FC, inv. no. 1991A.507. 3Letter to his mother,22 Floreal an 5 [11th May 1797], FC, inv. no. 1991-A.508: et venirpourvoirautantquepossible 'Depuisunmois6 semaines quejesuisicije nefaitqu'aller

656

BythemiddleofJulyGroshadresumedhisroleasresident in the CasaSerbelloni.He wasnowfriendlywith portraitist of Bonaparte'scircle and especiallywith members many AlexandreBerthier,whom he paintedstandingbeforethe on bridgeat Lodi(Fig.7).Thisportraitis similarto Bonaparte could not but Gros did not theBridge ofArcole, perhaps of had to his the same he portrait employ dynamism brought Berthier's the General-in-Chief. poseis morestationaryand he facesthe viewer,muchas in a conventional militaryportrait.Standingstillin frontof enemyfire,hispositionappears isolatedandprecarious. LikeBonaparte, Berthiertooka particular interestin Gros. He paidfor an engravingof his portrait,constantlyoffered thepaintermoney,andevengavehima horse.40 WhileGros wasawayfromMilanforthreemonthshe receivedoccasionallettersfromBerthierurginghimto return.'J'aijecroislebonheurd'avoirsonamitieoudumoinsil metraiteainsi',Gros said of

thegeneralin oneletter,referring to himin anotheras 'unvrai ami'.4'Grosalso had frequentcontactin RomewithAlexandre'stwobrothers,CesarandLeopold,whowereserving as generalsin the Armee d'Italie.He paintedportraits of Leopoldand his wife,as well as of AlexandreBerthier's mistress(MmeVisconti)andsister-in-law.42 toutcequiesta voir'. 3The departuredate is in a letter to his motherof 23 Pairialan 5 [1lthJune 1797], FC, 1989-A.784.The contentsand progressof the thirdconvoyare describedin letdeFrancei Rome,ed. A. DEMONTAIGLON desdirecteurs del'Acadimie ters in Correspondance Paris[1887-1908], XVII, pp.25, 29-30, 31 and 49. andj. GUIFFREY, 39Seethe letter to his mother,cited 1lthJune 1797 above. The drawingsare mentioned in DELESTRE,op.cit.at note 1 above,p.39. One of these drawingsis illustrated in ibid.,p.40; and in G. DELESTRE: Gros.1771-1835, Paris [1951], fig.5. Antoine-Jean 4?SeeTRIPIER LEFRANC,op.cit.at note 1 above,pp.138-39, and 142. See also Gros's letters to his mother of 9th August 1797 cited at note 16 above, 4 Brumairean 6 [25th October 1797] (FC, inv. no. 1978-A.2570), and 26 Brumairean 5 [16th November 1797] (FC, inv.no. 1987-A.718). 4'Firstquotation:letterto his motherof 9th August 1797 cited at note 16 above;second quotation:letterto his motherof 11th May 1797 cited at note 37 above. 42Aminiatureportrait of Leopold Berthier and two of his wife, the comtesse de eds.: Gros,sesamis,seseleves, exh.cat., Lasalle,are listedin G. BARNAUDand Y.SJOBERG, Petit Palais,Paris [1936], p.207. The other portraitsare mentioned in Gros'sletter of 9th August 1797 cited at note 16 above.

GRO S IN ITALY

by Antoine-JeanGros.c. 1797. ofthe'Pasquino', 8. Sketch Pencil,22.6 by 16.2 cm. (fol.14rof sketchbook RF29955, Louvre,Paris).

atXaffa,by Antoine-JeanGros.c. 1802-03. Pencil,49 by 67.8 cm. visitingthepesthouse 9. Studyfor Bonaparte (Louvre,Paris).

withusual association hada long-standing The Bertlbiers Berthier, of war.Theirfather,Jean-Baptiste representations soldierswho had been directorof the ingenieurs-geographes, and mademapsand drawingsof battlesandbattlegrounds, battle pre-Revolutionary hadhadsomeofthemostprominent All threeBerthierbrothers painters,underhis command.43 andAlexandre had themselvesservedas ingentelurs-geographes, of armymarcheswhenworking had paintedwater-colours fortheUnitedStatesmilitaryin theyears1780-83. Whenhe becamethe Chefd'etatmajorde l'armeed'Italiein 1795, he Bonainsistedon increasingthe corpsof ingenieurs-geographes. parteexpandedtheroleofthiscorpsstillfurtherin 1796, and usedthemto produceimagesthatservedmorefor eventually thanasvisualaidsformilitarystrategists.44 propaganda were, of While the productsof the ingenieurs-geographes course, entirelydifferentfrom the types of image Gros aspiredto produce,his liaison with Bonaparteand the Berthierclanwasof crucialimportanceto hislatercareerin thatit directedhis attentiontowardsthewholegenreof battlepainting.In a letterof 9thAugust1797 he toldhismother portraithe wouldsurely thatafterhe hadfinishedBerthier's actionsdecetteguerred'Italie'.45 dequelques do 'unoudeuxtableaux BothBerthierandBonaparteevidentlyconsideredthemoribundtraditionof battlepaintingas a living,cultivatedgenre, of Grosseemsto havebeenmotivated andtheirsponsorship partlybythehopethathe couldintroducetheirvictoriesinto the Salon.46

withBonaparteended Gros'sfirstperiodof collaboration withthegeneral'sreturnto Parisin December1797.In May the followingyear Groswas againin Rome, on a gallant son,Eugenede errandto inquireintothesafetyofJosephine's When.he returnedto Milanhe continuedto Beauharnais.47 receivingan arm.ysinecurethat movein highmilitarycirclesf, Despitethisenviablesitualefthimfreeto practicehis art.48 sideand tion,GrosdreamtofthegloriousdaysatBonaparte's longedforthe excitementof theParisianartworld: les moile nouveau, Alexandre, peintl'ancien Lesautresauraient n'estil partide Bontte arabes...pourquoi leschevaux mamelouks, Quisavaitce qu'ilvoulait il estpartide Paras? Milancomme devodemesportraits, aumilieu faire.. .aulieuquejesuislatrainant souslapatteoubienm'emil metombe duSalonquand rantunarticle Vous dePar7s. venez deParis.Vous vient dequiconque autour pressant le Colonde deDavid,la Psichede Gerard, avezvules Sabines etpaisje me etc.,quevousetesheureux! d'Isabey laBarque Girodet, decul autant quimesemblent demesderwnifigures aumilieu retrouve toutfa m'enlacravate; a l'autre l'habit, A l'unilfautfaire dejattes. pourmereveiller.49 etjen'aipersonne nuie,m'endort, Thisletterends Asbeforein Genoa,he sankintodepression. with a long passageof lonelinessand self-doubt,and he afterlearningof thedeathof his expressedsimilarsentiments depluscruel Leger:'raen closestboyhoodfriend,Jean-Mathieu Onselaisse sefatigue. isole,la tetesansbonte sensible, qued'etrejeune, In anotherletterfromthe a onseprecipite meme aller;

1624-1831. Etudehtstorique, militaires, 43SeeH.M.A. BERTHAULT: LesIngenieurs-geographes Paris[1902], p.30. 44Ibid,pp.l81 8745Citedat note 16 above. 46ForBerthier,the genrewas in some sensealivesince his father'sprofessionhad kept him in touch with the little battle painting being done. One gauge of Bonaparte's belief that the genre was not dead is his invitationto David in the late summerof 1797, when royalistagitatorswere menacing republicansin Paris,to come to Italy See E.-J. DELECLUZE: LouisDavid,sonecole,etson desbatailles'. peindre for safetyand 'pour temps,Paris [1983], p.200. Both Berthierand Bonaparteplayedkey rolesin reviving battlepaintingafterBonaparte's1799 coupd'ettat. at note 1 above, p.l59-60. Gros also painted Eugene de 47TRIPIER LE FRANC, op.cit. Beauharnais'sportrait,now in the Musee de Malmaison.

in a letterto the Commissairecivil in desrevues 48Grosdescribedhis post as inspecteur Milan. See his letter of 4 Ventose an 7 [22nd February1799], FC, inv. no. 1995A.626. This document also containsthe Commissaire'spermissionfor Gros to stay in Italy on the conditionthat he producea certificateof non-emigration. 49Letterof 23rd November 1798 cited in BORDES, loc.cit.at note 2 above,p.243. 50Letterto his mother,29 Thermidor an 7 [16th August 1799], FC, inv.no. 1987A.48. Gros had constantlyaskedabout his friendin lettersto his mother and corresponded regularlywith him. Leger's health weakened while in the military in Belgium,wherehe served,like Gros,as partof the team confiscatingart. On Leger's pendantla nationales militaryservice, see C.-L. CHASSIN and L. HENNET: Les Volontaires Paris [1902], II, p.79; and G. BRIERE: 'Le PeintreJ.-L.Barbieret les conRe'volution, del'ArtFranfais[1920], del'Histoire quetesartistiquesen Belgique',Bulletindela Societte' pp.20F10.

sa

perte'.50

657

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10. Bonaparte at affa,by Antoine-JeanGros. 523 by 715 cm. (Louvre,Paris). visitingthepesthouse

end of his long exile, Gros spoke of the pleasure he experienced at seeing his brother-in-law and confessed 'etreseul est et cetteviem'estau dernier bienhorrible,biendecourageant pointinsupportable.'5 Gros's letters also describe the hardships of war, in one instance graphically recounting a story he had been told of a friend's slow death on the battlefield.52As part of a convoy retreating from Milan to Genoa on 28th April 1799, Gros came close enough to enemy armies to sense the danger of combat.53And in Genoa he witnessed the starvation and disease caused by the long siege of the city where thirty thousand people died in four months.54Gros himself suffered from severe malnutrition and fell ill. Barely able to walk, he escaped the city aboard a British vessel on 5th June 1800.

5'Letterto his mother, 22 Frimaire1900 [sic; 13th December 1800], FC, inv. no. 1989-A.787. 52Letterof 16thAugust 1799 cited at note 50 above. 53See T. BRUMBAUGH: 'An Unpublished Letter of Baron Gros', GazettedesBeaux-Arts,6e per.,LXXI [1968], pp.123-25. 54See A. RONCO:L'Assedio di Genova1800, Genoa [n.d.]; idem.:GenovatraMassenae - i 1800, Genoa [1988]; and E.HOWARD: StoriadellaRepubblica Genoa: Ligure Bonaparte. thirdedition, Genoa [1982], pp.76-77. HistoryandArtin an OldSeaport,

658

When he disembarked in Antibes he was apparently still sick, though he managed to find his way to the house of the Meuricoffre family in Marseille. There his health rapidly declined, and by his own account he narrowly escaped death.55 After his recovery Gros spoke constantly of returning to Paris, but portrait commissions and the possibility of recovering money owed to him in Milan kept him in Marseille for over six months. He renewed his contacts with the Berthier family, hoping that their influence would obtain him a passport to travel to Paris.56A year earlier he had considered contacting the Berthier wives, but had not dared to, fearing that they would attribute 'auretourdeBonaparteet leurfrere[Alexandre] unelettresi tardive'.57 The phrase demonstrates how conscious-

S5Gros's hardshipsin Genoa and sicknessin the South of France are describedby DELESTRE,

pp.49-51, and TRIPIERLE FRANC, pp. 170-76, both cited at note 1 above.

The mostpoignanttestamentof Gros'ssicknessis a shakilywrittenletterto his mother from Marseille(no date, FC, inv.no. 1991-A.509)in which he describeshow the care of the Meuricoffrefamilysavedhim from death. SSee his letter of 28thJune 1800 in BORDES,loc.cit.at note 2 above,p.244. 57Letterto his mother,21st October 1799, in ibid.,above,p.244.

GROS IN ITALY

11. ApolloBelvedere. Greco-Roman.Marble,224 cm. high. (MuseiVaticani,Rome).

ly Gros courted his former patrons. With Bonaparte now the First Consul and Alexandre Berthier the Minister of War, Gros was undoubtedly eager to get back to France and enjoy whatever benefits might stem from his early association with them. He eventually secured a passport with the help of Leopold Berthier, and returned to Paris at the end of February 1801.58 The contacts he had made in Italy were of immediate use. In March Alexandre Berthier instructed the Minister of the 58Theletterfrom Leopold Berthierto Gros'smother askingher to pick up the passport is published in TRIPIERLE FRANC, op.cit.at note 1 above, p. 177. The date of Gros's

arrivalin Parisis indicatedby a letterof 21st March 1801 from Grosto the engraver Pierre Poize in Marseillein which Gros stateshe has been in the capitalfor three weeks (letterpublished in P. RIPERT:'Le Peintre Gros et Marseille',Marseille,3rd series,no. 24 [October-December,1954], p. 10). FollowingTripierle Franc,p. 178, Gros'sreturnto Parisis often incorrectlydated to October 1800. 59Thecompetitionwas initiallyorderedby Bonapartewhile he was in Egypt, but nothing was done. Berthier's role is revealed by documents in the Archives Nationales,Paris.A report of Vent6se an 9 [March 1801] from V-A. Arnault,the head of the FourthDivision of the Institut,toJ.-A.-C. Chaptal,the Ministerof the Interior,statesthatBerthieraskedthe Ministryof the Interiorto organisethe concours (Paris,ArchivesNationales,F2 2, dossier7, piece 22). Berthier'sinterestis confirmed by a letterof 4Floreal an 9 [28thApril 1801] in which ChaptaltellsBerthierthat he has receivedthe latter'srequestconcerningthe concours, and that he has undertaken the necessarymeasures(ibid.,piece 21). 60See SIEGFRIED,loc.cit.at note 21 above, passim; and D. O'BRIEN: TheArt of War:French

MilitaryPainting, 1795-1804, unpublisheddoctoraldissertation,Universityof Michigan, 1995, pp. 106-48. 61Documentspertainingto the selectionof thejury are in Paris,ArchivesNationales, F212, dossier 7, pieces 13-20; see O'BRIEN, dissertationcited at note 60 above, pp.142-44. 62See ibid.,pp.118-21.

Interior to organise a competition for a painting of the Battle of Nazareth, fought during Bonaparte's Syrian Campaign.59 Gros's sketch was selected by a fifteen-member jury, even though most critics wrote harshly about it.60 His victory was surely guaranteed by his powerful connexions. Even if Berthier did not earmark the commission for his former protege, the jurors were aware of the artist's relationship to Berthier and Bonaparte. Moreover, Gros himself knew many of the jurors well. David was his teacher; Monge and Moitte had served with him on the Commission des arts; Augustin Pajou was the father of one of his closest friends; and Andoche Junot and Andreossi were generals whom he undoubtedly knew in Milan.6' Gros's former affiliation with the military was evident in his concoursentry, for beneath his sketch he exhibited drawings demonstrating that his composition relied on the techniques of ingenieurs-geographes.62 The outcome of the contest led to accusations of official favouritism, and a few critics claimed thatJunot had threatened the jury with violence.3 During the two years following the Nazareth competition Gros received blatantly preferential treatment from the First Consul. For the Salon of 1802 Bonaparte commissioned a large equestrian portrait of himself distributing a 'sword of honour' after the Battle of Marengo.64 Over the course of 1802 and 1803 Bonaparte also asked Gros for four full-length portraits of himself dressed in the uniform of the First Consul,65which in turn served as prototypes for other artists.66 The First Consul paid close attention to the fate of these pictures, ordering three of them framed and commissioning a tapestry after the equestrian portrait.67 While working on these portraits Gros received another, more exciting commission from Bonaparte, not from Josephine, as has long been supposed. This we learn from an undated letter: Le premierConsul, independamment de plusieursportraitsqu'il m'avaitdemande et quim'ontpristoutle coursdecetteannee[1803], m'avait lui-memedonneun sujet a traiter.II s'etaitplu a me le detaillerlui-memeet enpresencede son epouse,sa bellefille, et le C. Bourrienneson secretaire.... Le sujetetaitsa visitedespestfferesa l'h6pitaldeJaffa en Syrie.68 Bonapartevisitingthepesthouseat Jaffa (Fig.10) secured Gros's reputation and at the same time established the form of history painting for which the Empire is remembered. The painting's iconography suggests that the artist's experiences 3Ibid.,pp.129-31. desouvrages..., Paris[1802], no.970. Most of Gros'sothermajorpaintings 64Explication of this period also came, at least indirectly,from his associationwith Bonaparte.In 1801 Lucien Bonapartecommissioneda portraitof his late wife, ChristineBoyer (Paris,Louvre).At the Salon of the same year Gros exhibitedhis Sapphoat Leucadia (Bayeux,Muse6Baron-Gerard),whichwas purchasedby a generalhe had knownin Milan and Genoa,Jean-Joseph-Paul-Augustin Dessolles.Finally,in 1802 the city of LE FRANC, Milan requested an equestrian portrait of the First Consul. See TRIPIER

op.cit.at note 1 above,pp.199-200.

"On these commissions, see E. LILLEY: 'Consular Portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte',

'Aproposdes desBeaux-Arts, 6' per., CVI [1985], pp.143-56; and N.HUBERT: Gazette portraitsconsulairesde Napoleon Bonaparte.Remarquescomplementaires',ibid., CVIII [1986], pp.23-30. 66MmeBenoit, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Jean-Auguste-DominiqueIngres, Robert Lefevre,Joseph-MarieVienfils, CharlesMeynier,and FortuneDufau. See LILLEY, and HUBERT, both cited above.

of Denon, Paris,Archivesdu Louvre,inv.no. 1 BB 7, entriesfor 25 Fructi67Journal dor an 11 and 19 Germinalan 11. 68Letterfrom Grosto Pierre-NarcisseGuerin,undated [1803], FC, inv.no. 6569. In a letter of 9thJanuary 1805 Bonaparteclaimed thatJosephine commissionedthe deJapoleon1",cited at note 17 painting 'sansen avoirfixeleprix'.See Correspondance above, X, p. 137. It seems entirelyin keeping with Bonaparte'scharacter,however, to attributethe artadministration's budgetaryproblemstoJosephine'sextravagance.

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in Italy were vital to his success in the new genre. In early sketches for Jaffa (Fig.9), Gros based Bonaparte's figure on the 'Pasquino' (Fig.8), a sculpture he had repeatedly sketched in Florence.69 This allusion suited the martial character of his subject, since the statue was thought to represent Menelaus carrying the body of Patroclus.70 Bonaparte's action, engaged in the task of a low-ranking soldier or orderly, also retained something of the citizen-soldier ideology.71But the image of the general awkwardly supporting a cadaver lacked the decorum appropriate to Bonaparte's imperial pretensions in 1804, and Gros changed his composition. It has long been recognised that in the final canvas the figure of Bonaparte bears a resemblance to representations of Christ, while his action resembles that of the thaumaturgic king.72Bonaparte's pose is also based on that of the Apollo Belvedere (Fig.11), perhaps reinforcing the notion of the divine healer by reference to Apollo's many associations with curing. One interpretation of the Apollo Belvedere is, however, of special interest. In his catalogue of the Museo PioClementino, the foremost antiquarian of the day, Ennio Quirino Visconti, argued that the statue had been commissioned by the Athenians in praise of Apollo after a plague during the Peloponnesian war, and that the serpent at his feet represented Medicine, which Apollo had taught to men.73 Gros was certainly familiar with Visconti's work. Alexandre Berthier had appointed the scholar to a top governmental post after the French conquered Rome in 1797. When Gros visited the city as a member of the Commission des arts he would naturally have met the man who had catalogued the museum he was in the process of plundering. Gros undoubtedly continued to see Visconti in Paris, where in 1799 he was made curator of antiquities at the Musee central des arts (the Louvre) and, in 1803, a member of the Institut.74 The reference to the Apollo Belvedere would have been obvious to the classically-trained painters and amateursof the period: the statue was frequently reproduced and was considered by authorities such as Winckelmann to be among the most beautiful of antique sculptures.75During the Consulate and Empire it was, as Andrew McClellan has recently

ITALY

remarked, 'the work of art that more than any other symbolized Napoleonic triumph and the new glory of Paris'.76When the Gallery of Antiquity at the Louvre opened on 9th November 1800 - on the first anniversary of the coupd'etat that placed Bonaparte in power - the First Consul hung a plaque from the Apollo Belvedere announcing that it had been brought to Paris 'under the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte'.77Gros was of course thoroughly familiar with the statue, having helped to transport it to Paris, and in 1813 he was chosen to paint a never-completed canvas of 'The Emperor Giving France the Masterpieces of Antique Sculpture' for the Louvre.78

Apollo's associations with reason and healing are surely relevant to the painting's imagery of delirium and sickness, and can be linked, together with the painting's Christian and monarchical imagery, to Bonaparte's political ambitions at the moment of transition from Consulate to Empire.79The allusion to Apollo may have been intended partly as a reminder of Gros's association with Napoleon in Italy, especially since he feared that the commission might be taken away from him and given to Pierre-Narcisse Guerin.80 But the reference also reveals a fundamental change in the painter's vision of Bonaparte. Gros had initially sought the general out as someone whose wealth and social prominence held the promise of major commissions. When Bonaparte became First Consul, Gros's colleagues must have envied his good fortune in having attached himself to France's most powerful patron. For Gros, however, Bonaparte had become more than a sponsor. He was a personal saviour who had delivered him from despair, sent him to Rome, and provided him with the subjects that made his reputation. Gros had once celebrated his hero as a Revolutionary soldier of exemplary merit, but now he could earnestly liken him to a deity with supernatural powers and ideal beauty, pointing the way towards the reverential imagery of the Empire. The years in Italy had transformed an ambitious young Davidian into a devoted apostle eager to explore the ways in which history painting might serve the Napoleonic regime. ofIllinois,Champaign-Urbana University

"'Seethe two sketchbooksby Gros in Paris,Musee du Louvre,Cabinet des Dessins, RF29955, fol. 14 recto, and RF29956, fols. 13v and 20v. Of the three existingversions of the statue,Gros'sdrawingscorrespondmost closely to the one now in the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence,which was on the south side of the Ponte Vecchiowhen Groswas in Florencein 1793 and 1794. the eighteenthcenturythe statuewas commonly interpretedas a sol7"Throughout

7Fora summaryof Visconti'scareer,see E. DAVID'Sentry 'Visconti(EnniusQuirinus)' in Biographie et moderne, ed. MICHAUD, Paris [1811-62], XLIII, pp. universelle ancienne 626-635. Napoleon held Viscontiin particularesteem, commissioningthe Iconograetromaine from him in 1804. phiegrecque in LesMonuments 75In1804 TommasoPirolipublishedan etchingof the ApolloBelvedere Antiquesdu MusieNapolion,Paris [1804-06], I, plate 15. For a partial list of other

dier carrying his fallen comrade: see F. HASKELL and N. PENNY: Tasteand theAntique,

reproductions and discussions of the statue, see HASKELLand PENNY, op.cit.at note 70

New Haven and London [1981], pp.291-96. In 1789 Ennio Quirino Viscontipublished a celebratedstudyarguingthat the statuerepresentedMenelauscarryingthe body of Patroclus.See [F. CANCELLIERI]:Notiziedelleduefamose statuedi unfiumee di dettevolgarmente diMarforoe diPasquino, Rome [1789], republishedin E.Q.VISPatroclo, CONTI: II MuseoPio-Clementino, Rome [1782-1807], VI, chapters 18 and 19. As demonstratedbelow,Groswas familiarwith Visconti'swork. 7Gros's idea for the earlysketchesseems to have come fromR. DESGENETTES:Histoire deI'armee Paris[1802], I, p.21. Desgenettesdescribeda moment durmedicale d'orient, dansunechambre etroite et ing Bonaparte'svisit to the plague-strickenwhere, 'setrouvant hidieux d'unsoldatdontleshabitsenlambeaux etaient tresencombrie, lecadavre [il] aidaa soulever d'unbubonabscede'. souilles parl'ouverture 7See L. REAU:LArt romantique, Paris [1930], p.28; w. FRIEDLAENDER:'Napoleon as Roi

and Courtauld Institutes,XIV [1940-1941], Thaumaturge',Journalof the Warburg 'Baron Gros and Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign', Essays pp. 139-41; N. SCHLENOFF: in Honorof Walter ed. s. CAHNetal., New York[1965], p. 158; and H. MOLFriedlaender, 'A propos des 'Pestifiers deJaffa' de A.-J. Gros', Jaarboekvan LARETand J. BROSSOLET:

hetKoninkljk MuseumvoorSchone Kunsten Antwerpen, [1968], p.294. 73VISCONTI,op.it. at note 70 above, I, chapter 14.

660

above, pp.148-51. Winckelmann'sdescriptionappearedin four Frencheditions of his Histoiredel'artchezlesanciensbetween 1766 and 1803, the last edition citing VisHistoire de l'art chez les anciens, tr. H. conti's interpretation. See Jj. WINCKELMANN: II, p.430.

JANSEN, Paris [1794-1803], 76Op.it. at note 33 above,

p.154. Gros was not the only artistto link Bonaparteand the Apollo Belvederethroughhis pose: a print (Paris,BibliothequeNationale, CollectionDe Vinck,inv.no. 6936) showsBonapartegesturingto the statuein a way that echoes its form as he saysto a groupof advisers'Well,gentlemen,2,000,000 francs!'. duMuseeNapolion,Paris [year 11; 1803], p.4, cited in desAntiques 77oticedela Galerie MAINARDI, loc.cit.at note 33 above, p. 159. 78See BLUMER, loc.cit.at note 33 above, p.249. 79O'BRIEN,dissertation cited at note 60 above, pp. 149-204. LEFRANC (op.cit.at note 1 above, p.205) asserted that Denon gave the com0"TRIPIER

missionto Gu6rin,unawarethat Bonapartehad alreadyofferedit to Gros.Another etmoderne, universelle ancienne source(c. GAUCHERAUD: 'Gros,Antoine-Jean'in Biographie ed.cit.at note 74 above, XVII, p.596) claimed that Bonaparte'smother was among those supportingGuerin. Gros stakedhis claim to the commissionin the letter to Gu6rincited at note 68 above.