257 - Carlo BOSSOLI (Lugano, 1815 – Turin, 1884)

Carlo BOSSOLI (Lugano, 1815 – Turin, 1884) Napoleon and His Army Before the Burning of Moscow. Oil on canvas, signed lower left “C. Bossoli.” Minor losses, re-stretched. In a beautiful gilded and stuccoed wooden frame with a palmette design. H. 50 x W. 70 cm. Frame: H. 69 x W. 88 cm. History Here, Carlo Bossoli depicts one of the most dramatic and symbolic moments of Napoleon’s Russian campaign, imbued with both pathos and historical reflection. Emperor Napoleon I, in the center on his horse, gazes intently and thoughtfully at the city of Moscow as it is consumed by flames. Bossoli, an artist known for his penchant for historical subjects and documentary precision, tackles here a narrative that goes beyond mere reporting, entering the realm of symbolic representation of power and its transience. The choice of subject—emblematic of Napoleonic grandeur and tragedy—reflects a deep interest in the figure of Napoleon, seen not only as a military leader but as the protagonist of an epic destined to shape the course of European history. The composition is dominated by a dramatic contrast between the shadows of night and the glow of the fire surrounding the city—a fierce light that lends the scene an atmosphere of impending apocalypse. The figures of soldiers on foot and on horseback emerge from the darkness, symbols of a humanity crushed by catastrophe and fate. In the final years of his mature period, Carlo Bossoli devoted himself to depicting Napoleonic episodes, combining heroism and historical tragedy, glory and military defeat, through a particularly pronounced sense of pathos. This work is part of a historical and artistic tradition that presents Napoleon as both a historical figure and a Romantic archetype, an emblem of genius and human torment. Archives The work is cataloged in the Turin Archives, in the file of Carlo Bossoli’s works under number 09/24, and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.