France - Corsica; Auber - Délivrance de la Corse, le 29 Vendémiaire An 5 - 1806

Technical data

Title: Délivrance de la Corse, le 29 Vendémiaire An 5.
Author: Jean Duplessi-Bertaux (1747–1819), engraving by intaglio; Niquet and Pillement, completion of the plate.
Draftsman: Antoine-Charles-Horace, called Carle Vernet (1758–1836).
Publisher: Chez Auber, Éditeur et Propriétaire, according to the editorial data of the work to which it belongs.
Location: Paris.
Epoch: 1806; episode depicted dated in the inscription as 29 Vendémiaire year V of the French Republican Calendar.
Technique: copper-engraved intaglio, executed in aquatint and finished with burin, with later hand coloring, not contemporary.
Support: paper.
Dimensions: impression about 29 × 39.5 cm; sheet about 39 × 54.5 cm.
Composition: single plate, with title and credit lines engraved in the lower margin; blank verso.

Description

Copper-engraved plate on copper depicting the liberation of Corsica, taken from a composition by Carle Vernet. The scene unfolds across a wide coastal landscape, where military action involves simultaneously the mainland and the adjacent sea.

In the foreground, soldiers, horsemen, carts and civilian figures animate the sloping ground toward the settlement. The buildings and fortifications punctuate the middle plane, while anchorage appear in the bay with boats and ships, partly shrouded by smoke from artillery. On the right, a succession of mountainous outcrops and coastal settlements accompanies the depth of the view.

The composition unites the narration of the event with the description of the landscape, with particular attention to the movements of the figures and the horses. Dense hatching defines the sky, the waters and the reliefs, while the later hand coloring differentiates uniforms, architectures and natural elements.

In the lower margin are the title Délivrance de la Corse, the 29 Vendémiaire An 5 and the indications related to the drawing by Carle Vernet, the intaglio by Duplessi-Bertaux and the completion by Niquet and Pillement.

Historical-Artistical Note

The plate celebrates Corsica’s return to French control in 1796, at the end of the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom period. The term “délivrance” expresses the celebratory reading of the episode typical of French publishing in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic era.

Carle Vernet was one of the principal interpreters of military representation at the turn of the 18th to the 19th century. His compositions, characterized by attention to horses, uniforms and the dynamics of action, spread widely through engraving. The collaboration among multiple specialists in plate-work allowed the vivacity of aquatint to be combined with the tonal definition of burin.

Condition Report

Sheet with wide margins and clearly recognizable plate impression. Slight paper warping, scattered foxing and small stains, more evident in the margins and on the verso. Small superficial irregularities and light traces of handling in the peripheral zones. The figurative part overall well preserved, with legible engraved line and later hand coloring. Verso white, with slight yellowing and sparse speckling.”}} } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } } }