BENJAMIN ZIX (1772-1811) "Crossing the Danube by French Troo - Lot 198

Lot n° 198
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Estimation :
4000 - 5000 EUR
BENJAMIN ZIX (1772-1811) "Crossing the Danube by French Troo - Lot 198
BENJAMIN ZIX (1772-1811) "Crossing the Danube by French Troops at Blindheim on June 19, 1800." Beautiful watercolor signed lower right. " B. Zix. Fecit" and titled "Passage of the Danube in Messidor the year 8 of the Republic." 32 x 51 cm. Framed under glass and titled. History: The scene is astonishing: French infantrymen, naked, come out of the river, and fight, with their gibernets and their rifles, the Austrians. It corresponds to the historical truth. In 1800, at the crossing of the Danube by Lecourbe at Blindheim, 80 swimmers crossed the river, seized their weapons carried in two boats (clearly visible here), naked and armed, they charged the Austrians, seized two cannons, and by this heroic action ensured the success of the crossing. The men led by Degrometry ensured the success on the enemy bank, leaving the time for the pontonniers to install a bridge (under construction in the background) for a more "conventional" passage. Frédéric PITON, in his 1855 "Strasbourg Illustré", is also quoted as saying about Zix: "Who among us has not laughed heartily at the plate (...) where we see, at the crossing of the Danube, these brave men, wearing the uniform of Adam in paradise, their chests covered with their supplies in saltire, leaping out of the water to fire at the Austrians. One searches in vain to which corps they belong, because, after having swum across the river, with a boat that contained their clothes and weapons, they only took the time to seize the latter to fight. Benjamin ZIX (1772-1811) Following his meeting with Dominique Vivant-Denon, he became a draughtsman at the headquarters of the Grande Armée. He sketched, among others, the battles of Valmy and Wagram. Among his works, we know his allegorical Portrait of Vivant-Denon in the Louvre in 1811 (pen and ink drawing, Louvre Museum), published by André Chastel. He was also the author of landscapes such as his series of drawings of the Ban-de-la-Roche. More rarely, he made portraits and rare caricatures.
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