Italy - Grand Saint Bernard; Auber - Passage du Mont Saint-Bernard, le 30 Floréal An VIII - 1806

Technical data

Subject / Title: Passage du Mont Saint-Bernard, le 30 Floréal An VIII – Passaggio del Gran San Bernardo, 20 maggio 1800
Author / Designer: Antoine-Charles-Horace, called Carle Vernet (1758–1836)
Engravers: Jean Duplessi-Bertaux (1747–1819), intaglio; Louvet, completion of the plate
Publisher / Printer: Chez Auber, Éditeur et Propriétaire
Place: Paris
Era / Date: 1806
Technique: copper engraving, executed in etching and engraving, with manual coloring
Dimensions: plate about 29 × 42 cm; sheet about 39 × 54.5 cm
Inscription: at the bottom «Composé et Dessiné par Carle Vernet»; «Gravé à l’eau-forte par Duplessi-Bertaux»; «Terminé par Louvet»
Composition: single plate from the work Campagnes de Napoléon, Premier Empereur des Français et Roi d’Italie, published in Paris by Auber in 1806

Description

Historical engraving depicting the passage of the Napoleonic army through the Great St Bernard Pass, which occurred on the 30 Floréal in the year VIII of the French Republican calendar, corresponding to 20 May 1800. The plate was composed and drawn by Carle Vernet, etched by Jean Duplessi-Bertaux and completed by engraving by Louvet.

The scene shows the long military column engaged in crossing the Alpine pass during the Second Italian Campaign. In the foreground advance infantry units, officers on horseback, pack animals and staff responsible for transport of supplies. The procession proceeds along a winding path, crosses the watercourse by means of a provisional bridge and gradually climbs the mountain slopes, until it disappears in the distance.

The imposing Alpine setting dominates the composition: rocky walls, deep gorges and snow-covered slopes underscore the logistical difficulties of the undertaking. The relatively small size of the figures compared with the vast landscape emphasizes the exceptional nature of the military advance. Manual coloring differentiates uniforms, horses, vegetation, waters and reliefs, enhancing depth of perspective and the complex narrative articulation of the scene.

Historical-artistic note

The plate belongs to the commemorative work Campagnes de Napoléon, Premier Empereur des Français et Roi d’Italie, published in Paris by Auber in 1806. The collection illustrated the main episodes of Napoleon’s campaigns through a sophisticated array of historical and military engravings.

Carle Vernet, son of the famous painter Claude-Joseph Vernet and father of Horace Vernet, was one of the leading French interpreters of military painting between the 18th and 19th centuries. Particularly appreciated for depicting horses, uniforms and troop movements, he developed for this scene a composition in which descriptive precision and monumentality of the landscape combine with the celebration of the Napoleonic enterprise.

Jean Duplessi-Bertaux translated the drawing onto the plate via etching, a technique especially suitable for defining the figures and the intricate movement of the column. Louvet subsequently completed the work in engraving, deepening contrasts, shading and the rendering of the rocky masses.

The crossing of the Great St Bernard was one of the most representative episodes of the Second Italian Campaign. The operation enabled the Army of Reserve to reach the Po Valley and preceded the decisive battle of Marengo on 14 June 1800.

Condition Report

Copy in generally good conservation condition. Sheet with wide margins and substantially intact. There are slight undulations, folds and minor handling traces, plus small foxing spots and light marginal oxidations compatible with the period. Minor superficial irregularities of the paper. Manual coloring well preserved. Clear impression, with good legibility of details and inscriptions. Blank verso