Adolphe Roehn

ADOLPHE ROEHN (Paris, 1780- 1867).
"Military march", c. 1820.
Oil on canvas.
Signed.
Measurements: 60 x 73 cm; 75 x 88 cm (frame).
The painter offers us here a scene of the daily life of the soldiers rather than a combat scene. The atmosphere is relaxed; the soldiers eat their fill and warm themselves around a fire at the foot of a castle. In the background, a beautiful panoramic view of the valley and the sky allows us to take in the whole landscape. The subject matter is allusive to a historical event, which was a very common thematic resource during this period. History painting was traditionally considered the most important genre. This preeminence was explained by a certain concept that art had to propose noble and plausible examples. Therefore, the superiority of those artistic works in which what was narrated was considered elevated or noble was defended, usually narrative pieces as in this case.

Adolphe Roehn began painting self-taught, without a teacher, historical scenes; later, he specialized in genre painting and portraits. Adolphe Roehn was a French painter, draughtsman and lithographer who began as a self-taught artist. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1799 to 1866, and won a second-class medal in 1819. Between 1802 and 1814, under the direction of Baron Vivant Denon, director of the Louvre, he produced a series of drawings illustrating Napoleon's campaigns in Italy. After the bloody battle of Eylau in 1807, Vivant Denon announced a propaganda competition in which participants were asked to depict a particular scene from the event. Roehn received a "gold medal of encouragement". Like his son, Jean Alphonse Roehn, he taught drawing at the Louis-Legrand School.