The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Return from Russia

Return from Russia

c. 1818
(French, 1791–1824)
France, 19th century
lithograph printed in black and ochre with watercolor added by hand
Border: 44.4 x 36.4 cm (17 1/2 x 14 5/16 in.)
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1931.48
Catalogue raisonné: Delteil vol. 18, no.13
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This print was created at a time when Théodore Géricault was focusing on military subjects in his prints, drawings, and paintings.

Description

Géricault was an accomplished lithographer who realized the potential of the medium. Two stones were used to print this image—one for the design printed in black and the other to create the broad areas of tone printed in ocher. This is one of the earliest French lithographs in which a second color is somewhat integrated into the image instead of just being used for the overall background. Géricault added white watercolor to indicate snow on the lower portion of the scene. Unlike other artists who glorified the Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815), Gericault portrayed a realistic image of the misery and horrors of combat. This scene of two wounded soldiers and exhausted, starving animals is a powerful statement of the pitiful conditions following Napoleon's defeat by the Russians.
  • Catalogue of an exhibition of the art of lithography: commemorating the sesquicentennial of its invention, 1798-1948. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, November 11, 1948-January 2, 1949. Mentioned: p. 37 archive.org
  • Inventive Impressions: 18th- and 19-Century French Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art; 8/26/01-10/28/01. "Inventive Impressions: 18th- and 19th-Century French Prints".
    Generous Donors: A Tribute to The Print Club of Cleveland. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 2-August 4, 1991).
    Printing in Color. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10-November 17, 1985).
    Goya, Gericault and Delacroix. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-April 24, 1983).
    The Print Club of Cleveland, 1919 - 1969: Fifty Years in Review. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 14-March 31, 1970).
    40th Anniversary Exhibition of the Print Club of Cleveland. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 3, 1959-January 20, 1960).
    Department of Prints and Drawings Opening Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (March 3, 1958-October 11, 1959).
    Baron Gros, Painter of Battles: The First Romantic Painter. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 8-April 15, 1956).
  • {{cite web|title=Return from Russia|url=false|author=Théodore Géricault|year=c. 1818|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1931.48