Fermat 48
My Favourite Painting
My favourite painting in Manchester’s Art Gallery is: ‘Marshal Ney Supporting the Rear Guard during the Retreat from Moscow’ painted in 1856 by artist Adolphe Yvon 1817-1893; ( Painting Pictured above).
Yvon’s painting represents the disastrous culmination of Napoleon’s Russian invasion of 1812.
Having led 450,000 men across the river Niemen Napoleon was forced to turn back to Moscow; which had been torched by retreating Russian forces.
The central figure in the picture is the French Hero ‘Marshal Michael Ney’ who was given command of the army’s rear guard, but temperatures below -20° C killed as many men as the enemy; by the December of that year only 13,000 of the Grand Army remained.
Historically, the French eventually occupied Moscow, and all seemed hopeless for the Russians until a legendary winter storm descended, defeating the French where they stood; can be seen in the picture.
One of the best known pieces of classical music composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 was the ‘1812 Overture’; its full title is ‘The Year 1812 Solemn Overture, op. 49’. It was meant to commemorate the successful Russian defence against Napoleon’s invading Grand Army in 1812; Represented in the painting by Yvon.
Tchaikovsky actually hated that piece of music as it was ‘too loud and noisy’, even though he wrote it.
My Favourite Painting
My favourite painting in Manchester’s Art Gallery is: ‘Marshal Ney Supporting the Rear Guard during the Retreat from Moscow’ painted in 1856 by artist Adolphe Yvon 1817-1893; ( Painting Pictured above).
Yvon’s painting represents the disastrous culmination of Napoleon’s Russian invasion of 1812.
Having led 450,000 men across the river Niemen Napoleon was forced to turn back to Moscow; which had been torched by retreating Russian forces.
The central figure in the picture is the French Hero ‘Marshal Michael Ney’ who was given command of the army’s rear guard, but temperatures below -20° C killed as many men as the enemy; by the December of that year only 13,000 of the Grand Army remained.
Historically, the French eventually occupied Moscow, and all seemed hopeless for the Russians until a legendary winter storm descended, defeating the French where they stood; can be seen in the picture.
One of the best known pieces of classical music composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 was the ‘1812 Overture’; its full title is ‘The Year 1812 Solemn Overture, op. 49’. It was meant to commemorate the successful Russian defence against Napoleon’s invading Grand Army in 1812; Represented in the painting by Yvon.
Tchaikovsky actually hated that piece of music as it was ‘too loud and noisy’, even though he wrote it.