Watercolor Over Pen Drawing By Auguste Raffet, On The Reverse: Camp Of An Army Before Pisa

A French draftsman, engraver, and painter, born in Paris, and nephew of General Nicolas Raffet, he initially worked as a porcelain painter for Cabannel, a supplier to the Sèvres National Porcelain Manufactory. Seeking to improve his financial situation, he took evening classes at the Académie Suisse and became friends with Nicolas-Toussaint Charlet, who taught him lithographic drawing. In 1829, Auguste applied to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was accepted into Gros's studio. He devoted himself primarily to lithographic drawing and watercolor. In 1837, he participated in the scientific expedition to Russia led by Prince Anatole Demidoff, alongside 22 other scientists, writers, and artists. Drawing his preferred themes from the military genre, Raffet became one of the leading illustrators of the Napoleonic legend and powerfully popularized the image of the "old soldier." He sketched his first popular drawings in the taverns of the Joyeux and Frileux, which he frequented regularly with his teacher Charlet, the senior member. He also drew the Siege of Antwerp (1832), the conquest of Algeria, and the Siege of Rome by French troops in 1849. On the front, our work presents a street scene with soldiers and civilians, an undeciphered annotation in the lower left corner, and a number. On the back: a pen drawing depicting soldiers encamped before the walls of Pisa. Annotation in the lower left corner: Pisa, April 18, 1849.