Giacinto Massola, Episode Of The Retreat Of The French Army From Russia

GIACINTO MASSOLA
EPISODE OF THE RETREAT OF THE FRENCH ARMY FROM RUSSIA

GIACINTO MASSOLA
Sarzana, 1820 – Genoa, 1865

Pencil and grey wash with white heightening on toned paper
32 × 48.5 cm / 12.6 × 19.1 in
Framed: 53 × 70.5 cm / 20.9 × 27.8 in
Museum mount; frame in the style of the 1930s

This drawing depicts a rare subject in mid-nineteenth-century Italian art: the retreat of Napoleon’s Grand Army from Russia.
Giacinto Massola’s engagement with this theme marks a significant moment in his artistic development and reflects a broader transformation in his approach to historical subject matter during the early 1850s.

In 1851, Massola undertook an extended journey to London and subsequently to Paris, where he found himself at the centre of Europe’s most dynamic artistic environment. The culmination of this experience was his visit to the Paris Salon of 1851, the largest and most influential art exhibition of the nineteenth century.
The Salon offered an unparalleled panorama of new artistic forms, a wide range of subjects and techniques, and an exceptional opportunity to compare differing approaches to painting and drawing. The impact of this encounter proved decisive for Massola’s artistic outlook.

During this period, the academic foundations of his art began to evolve, giving way to a stronger late Romantic sensibility. This shift is reflected in the emergence of themes that were highly unusual within the Italian tradition, including dramatic interpretations of the Napoleonic wars and, in particular, the tragic episode of the French army’s retreat from Russia.

The choice of subject can be understood as an echo of Massola’s exposure to the work of two major painters of the mid-nineteenth century, Paul Delaroche and, above all, Ary Scheffer. In their art, the Napoleonic campaigns occupied a central place and served as a vehicle for moral and historical reflection. Massola offers his own interpretation of this legacy, restrained in tone yet profoundly tragic in its emotional register.

In this drawing, the artist employs a distinctive technique of working with white highlights on toned paper. This choice is not only closely aligned with the subject itself, but also plays a crucial expressive role. The white passages evoke snow, frozen air, and a heavy winter sky, while simultaneously heightening the dramatic tension of the scene.
Through this technical approach, Massola avoids overt heroism and instead focuses on exhaustion, vulnerability, and the silent weight of collective catastrophe.

The drawing occupies a distinctive place within the artist’s oeuvre, illustrating his sustained interest in historical themes reinterpreted through emotional experience and ethical reflection. Here, history is not presented as a triumphal narrative, but as a space of human suffering and loss.