First quarter of the 19th century, Camp scenes

First quarter of the 19th century

Camp scenes

(2) Oil on panel, 24,5 x 33 cm

With frame, 34 x 43 cm

These two small panels represent camp scenes in which soldiers rest or prepare for battle during a war campaign. The settings appear distinct from both a landscape and climatic point of view: the long coats worn by the troops gathered around the fire to warm up make one think of the cold season while the sunny sky, the light uniforms and the green vegetation of the other panel lead one to think of a milder period of the year. The tonal differences, colder on one side and lighter and warmer on the other, seem to underline this distinction which also develops in the characters' actions: the staticity of the recruits gathered around the bonfire sheltered by the walls of a ruined building contrasts with the industrious movement of the men-at-arms, located both in the foreground and in the distance, intent on setting up and preparing the bivouacs. One could think of two separate moments but part of the same campaign, to be placed chronologically at the beginning of the nineteenth century and to be identified with one of the campaigns of the French army: the tents, the blue and white of the uniforms, the hats and caps of the soldiers and the bayonets are configured with those used by Napoleon's armies in the wars fought in Europe between 1803 and 1815. Austerlitz (1805), Jena (1806), Wagram (1809), the entire Russian campaign are just some of the possible war scenarios in which the camp scenes depicted here could be placed. The landscape is the undisputed protagonist although the human figures, sketched with rapid and dense strokes of color, carve out a part that is not just an extra: the two soldiers lying in the foreground tell of an ephemeral lightheartedness despite the tragedy and the hardships of war while the man with a bayonet turned away makes us stop and reflect on the future that awaits him and his companions. The colors are spread with broader, more material and full-bodied brush strokes in the rendering of the sky and the landscape in general, managing to mix, blend and uniform the general tone of the composition, in which one can still appreciate the changing colors depending on the degree of lighting, the clouds or smoke or the type of vegetation.