Wikimedia Commons • Public Domain
Ernest Meissonier completed this somber scene in 1862, depicting Napoleon Bonaparte leading the remnants of his army through mud and snow during the French campaign of 1814. The Emperor rides grimly forward, his forces diminished by disaster. Meissonier's careful attention to historical detail made him the leading military painter of 19th-century France.
This smaller version, measuring 32 by 24 centimeters, relates to Meissonier's larger "Campagne de France" (1864) now at the Musée d'Orsay. The artist spent years researching Napoleonic campaigns, studying uniforms, weapons, and terrain to achieve historical accuracy. His dedication to detail commanded premium prices from collectors and admiration from fellow artists.
The painting now hangs at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Meissonier's small-scale works, executed with miniaturist precision, earned him comparison to Dutch Golden Age masters. His military scenes remained popular throughout the Second Empire and beyond.

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, Baltimore

Paolo Veronese
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, Baltimore

Martin Johnson Heade
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, Baltimore

Hugo van der Goes
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, Baltimore
Other masterpieces from the Academic Art movement

Rosa Bonheur, 1853
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Alexandre Cabanel, 1863
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1909
Tate Britain, London

Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1888
Private Collection, Unknown

William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1873
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1879
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Frederic Leighton, 1895
Tate Britain, London

Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1866
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
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