In the Department of Visual Materials of the State Historical Museum, among the graphic sheets dedicated to the events of the Foreign Campaigns of the Russian Army in 1813–1814, a special place is occupied by the concluding episodes of the campaign - the capture of Paris, the entry of allied troops into the city, and the capitulation of the French capital. Engravings and lithographs on this subject can be found in the collections of well-known collectors of the early 20th century - P.I. Shchukin, I.Kh. Kolodeyev, A.P. Bakhrushin, Baron de Baye - totaling more than 100 storage units. Collectors, gathering material on this theme, aimed to create the most complete illustrative picture of the events taking place on the territory of France. These include genre and battle scenes, architectural graphics, caricatures, allegories, painted by contemporary artists as well as witnesses of the presence of allied forces in the French capital, who made sketches from nature. The chronological framework of the study covers the period from March 13 to April 14, 1814, illustrating a month of Parisian life filled with vibrant events.

The last major battle on French territory, which took place on March 13 (25), 1814 at Fer-Champenoise, ended in a complete victory for the allied forces. This event was reflected in the works of several artists, both Russian and European. An interesting sketch drawing by an unknown artist depicting a cavalry attack is noteworthy. The drawing depicts an episode of the battle at Fer-Champenoise, when allied armies between Arcis-sur-Aube and Fer-Champenoise attacked the troops of Marshals A.E. Mortier and O.F. Marmont, defeated them, captured their artillery, and advanced towards the capital of France.

Unknown artist. Cavalry attack. Episode of the battle at Fère-Champenoise in 1813, 1816-1818. Paper, ink, sepia, brush, pen. In the Historical Museum, there are two lithographs depicting the battle at Fère-Champenoise: a tonal lithograph by an unknown artist and a lithograph based on a drawing by A.I. Dmitryev-Mamonov, a participant in the War of 1812 and the Foreign Campaigns of the Russian army in 1813-1814. As is known, Dmitryev-Mamonov created a series of eight naturalistic drawings depicting the main military events of 1812-1814. In 1822-1823, this series was lithographed by the artist S.P. Schiflar from the Military Topographic Depot of the General Staff. The battles on all the sheets of the series are depicted as scenes with masses of troops in action. The battlefield, shown in its entirety, is portrayed with topographic accuracy. In the lithograph "Battle at Fère-Champenoise," the author of the drawing, Dmitryev-Mamonov, can be recognized in a general's uniform and a triangular hat worn like an aide-de-camp, with a hussar valtrap on the horse.Figure: Lithography by S. Shiflyar based on the drawing by A.I. Dmitriev-Mamonov Battle of Fer-Champanuaz on the 13th day of March 1814, 1823. Four graphic sheets from the collection of the GIM illustrate the events of March 18 (30), 1814: the siege of Paris and the capture of the heights of Montmartre. On the evening before, the allies approached the French capital with three columns - from the north, south, and east, and saw the heights of Montmartre and the Paris towers. Exhausted from the long march, the troops settled down for the night, and in the morning of March 18 (30), the assault on the heights began. The battles were fierce. The French exerted all their strength to defend the approaches to their capital. Of particular interest are Russian lubki, published in Moscow in the first quarter of the 19th century, from unknown originals. They are accompanied by extensive inscriptions, according to which the engravings depict the events of a specific day, March 18 (30), 1814, when several thousand people were taken prisoner and 71 cannons were captured.Unknown artist Destruction of Napoleon at Paris by Russian Emperor Alexander the First... March 18, 1814, the first quarter of the 19th century." Around 9 o'clock in the morning on March 19 (31), the act of capitulation of Paris was signed, and the columns of allied armies, with drumming, music, and unfurled flags, entered through the gates of Saint-Martin in Paris. This favorite subject in the works of European artists is represented in the State Historical Museum by several engravings, but the most famous sheet belongs to the Viennese publishing house Artaria. Although the engravings are unsigned, a search for analogs in other museum collections, in particular at the Army Museum in Paris, helped establish the names of the original authors and engravers. This is a wonderful union of the German painter, draftsman, and graphic artist Johann Adam Klein (1792–1875) and the Austrian artist and engraver Carl Heinrich Rahl (1779–1843), who worked for the Viennese publishing house in 1805–1815. Their joint work resulted in 22 etchings with watercolor painting on them.In the era of 1812. Mostly these are battle scenes (battles at Brienne, Hanau, Waterloo) and genre scenes (Napoleon's landing on the island of Elba, the retreat of the French army from Moscow, the fire of Moscow). The engraving "The Allies Entering Paris" depicts a picturesque composition with a city square, in the center of which the Russian Emperor Alexander I, King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm III, and the Austrian Empire's Field Marshal Prince K.F. Schwarzenberg move behind the Cossack regiment of the Guard, accompanied by guards and a large retinue. You can also see well-drawn figures of townspeople, with interest watching this event.

How English artists depicted this event in visual art can be seen in colored aquatints printed in London a year later.as well as the Paris events of 1814. First of all, I would like to mention the London publishing house of James Jenkins, which collaborated with remarkable artists and illustrators of contemporary life: the artist William Heath (1795-1840) and the engraver Thomas Sutherland (1785-1820). Their creative partnership was short-lived, just over a year, but left us with several bright works, including those on the topic of the Napoleonic Wars.

All sheets were printed between March 1, 1814, and June 1, 1815. The drawings have a somewhat caricatured character, and this is no coincidence, because the author of the original, the British artist William Heath, was a recognized master of political caricature.

Now let's compare the English and German engravings. One sheet, datedIn 1816, it belongs to the London publisher Pall Mall, specializing, like the Viennese publisher "Artaria", in printing engravings of current events.

The name of the artist and engraver is unknown to us, the only name that appears in the signature below the image is that of the publisher - Robert Bowyer (R. Bowyer, 1785-1834). The same composition is present in an engraving by German school masters, where the author of the drawing is indicated as Ludwig Wolf (Wolf Ludwig, 1776-1832), and it was translated into an engraving by Johann Friedrich Hügel. In addition to engraving with etching and aquatint, Hügel was a well-known portraitist, painting, in particular, portraits of French Emperor Napoleon I and Russian grand dukes. Both artists worked in Berlin and witnessed the presence of the Russian army in Germany in 1813-1814. It should be noted that the GermanThese artists were among the best masters of architectural graphics. It is enough to remember the works of Wagner, Mansfeld, the Zur brothers with views of Leipzig, Hamburg, Moscow. The scene of the entry of allied troops into Paris in Russian engraving of the first quarter of the 19th century is presented with two lubok pictures, executed by unknown artists. These are two engraving prints, published in Moscow by Vasily Vasilyevich Loginov (†1847) in the mid-1810s and accompanied by extensive inscriptions indicating the persons depicted on the sheet: "Solemn Entry of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Alexander the First into Paris" and "His Majesty Alexander the First, King of Prussia, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, Prince Schwarzenberg, Count Barclay de Tolly with a numerous General Staff in a memorable procession in Paris on the Champs-Elysées, March 19, 1814."

The last one can confidently be dated no earlier than 1816, as it was first published in the appendix to issue 31 of the journal "Son Otechestva."

Since there are very few works by Russian battle painters from this period, any firsthand account is valuable to us. There is a reproduction of watercolor drawing by Dmitriev-Mamonov on the topic of the entry of the Russian army into Paris, which did not make it into the lithographed series by Shiflyar. The phototype is kept in the Historical Museum and comes from the former 1812 Museum collection. The original location is unknown, as are all eight drawings by Dmitriev-Mamonov.

In our opinion, chromolithography "The entry of Emperor Alexander I with allies into Paris in 1814," published in 1896 by A.K. Zaleskaya, may be of interest. This publication was carried out by the owner of the Moscow bookstore "Sotrudnik shkol," specializing in the production and sale of textbooks, children's literature, and souvenirs. If we compare the chromolithograph and the watercolor drawing by Alexey Danilovich Kivshenko from 1880, which served as the original for reproduction, the differences are clearly visible.

After an agreement was signed between French municipal officials, the Russian Emperor, the King of Prussia, and Field Marshal Schwarzenberg, the majority of allied troops entered Paris and occupied the gates. The Guard, Grenadier Corps, Cuirassiers, and several Cossack regiments were stationed directly in Paris. This is eloquently depicted in the well-known works of French aquatint engraver Jean-Pierre-Marie Jazeé.

Jazet Jean-Pierre Marie (1788–1871), executed according to the original of the Russian artist of German origin Alexander Zaurevaid and the German draftsman Georg Emanuel Opitz (Opitz Georg Emanuel, 1775–1841), depicting the Cossack bivouac on the Champs-Elysées in Paris on 19 (31 March) 1814.

The Cossacks, stationed on the Champs-Elysées, became the main attraction and "main surprise" of the French capital for two whole months.

The April events of Parisian life are preceded by a watercolor drawing by the French artist of the late 19th century Pierre Méjanel (P. Méjanel, 1856–?) depicting Emperor Alexander I visiting Talleyrand's house in Paris on April 1 (March 20 - old style) 1814.7" class="wp-caption aligncenter">

The Russian Emperor accepted the invitation of Charles Maurice de Talleyrand to stay in his house, which had serious political consequences as during their private conversations, a decision was made to form the Provisional Government of France.

In the morning of April 6, 1814, the French Emperor abdicated his throne, and at the White Horse Courtyard of the Fontainebleau Palace, Napoleon bid farewell to the units of the Old Guard before being sent to the island of Elba. This event was reflected in the works of several French school masters. Primarily, the colored lithograph from the painting by Georges Jules August Cain "Napoleon Leaving Fontainebleau," printed at the Rossa Parisian printing house at the end of the 19th century.8" class="wp-caption aligncenter">

In 1825, the French painter Horace Vernet (1789-1863) painted a canvas on the theme of Napoleon's farewell to the guard in Fontainebleau, which is now in a private English collection. From this original piece, a engraving was made on copper by Jean-Jacques Outhwaite, a French artist of English origin, based on a drawing by Auguste Sandoz.

In Paris, Emperor Alexander I, his entourage, the Russian army, and the guard celebrated Orthodox Easter, which coincided with the Catholic Easter that year. An altar was erected on the Place de la Concorde, where a thanksgiving service took place. This event is depicted in the copperplate engraving "Thanksgiving in Paris on the day of the Resurrection of the Lord, April 10, 1814" by Italian artists who worked in Russia - I.S. Klauber and G. Bazzetti.

After two months in Paris, the Russian army returned to Russia, where it was welcomed with triumph. Kobel (Wilhelm Ritter Kobell, 1766–1853) captured the return of the Russian infantry and Palace Square in St. Petersburg, while the beautiful etching by I.A. Ivanov illustrates "View of the Triumphal Gates, erected in honor of the Russian Imperial Guard and its triumphant entry into St. Petersburg on July 31, 1814."