Roubaud; Franz
(1856 Odessa - 1928 Munich)

French Cuirassiers Attacking Grenadiers of the Russian Raul Regiment in the Battle of Polotsk. Oil on canvas. 110 x 206cm. Signed lower right: F. Roubaud. Framed.

Provenance:
- Private collection; South Germany.

Literature:
Lingenauber; Eckart und Sugrobova-Roth; Olga: Franz Roubaud. Catalogue raisonn?
D黶seldorf 2012; p. 90; no. 56; no ill. and measurements.

Exhibition:
Glaspalast Munich 1914; no. 2062: 'Borodino [sic!] 1812; Franz鰏ische Kavallerie versucht
das russische Paul-Regiment zu werfen'(Borodino [sic!] 1812; the French cavalry attempts to defeat the Russian Paul Regiment).
In 1914; at the time of the exhibition; the subject was still known as the Battle of Borodino; which took place a few days later.

Certificate:
Dr. Olga Sugrobova-Roth; D黶seldorf.

The First Battle of Polotsk between the Russian troops under the command of General Wittgenstein; and the French and Bavarian troops under the command of Marshal Oudinot and Marshal Saint-Syr (not to be confused with the Second Battle of Polotsk; which took place two months later at almost exactly the same spot) took place on 17 and 18 August 1812. Roubaud depicts the beginning of the battle; the attack of the French cuirassiers on the grenadiers of the Russian Paul Regiment. Because of the Battle of Polotsk; the advance of the French on St. Petersburg was suspended. From this moment onwards; the main events of Napoleon's Russian campaign took place on the route to Moscow.
Several artists; among them Wilhelm von Kobell; Peter von Hess; as well as the Ukrainian painter F. Tschirko; made the First Battle of Polotsk their works' theme. Franz Roubaud's talent fully unfolded in this painting. The artist demonstrates the free and spirited painting style; the special freshness and intensity of the paint; as well as his own virtuosity in composing a crowded scene.
The painting's subject and its mature painting style allow for it to be dated around 1912. For Roubaud; the engagement with the topic of the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon culminates in his famous panoramic painting "The Battle of Borodino" from 1912.
In the Munich exhibition of 1914 the painting was presented as "Borodino 1812; French Cavalry tries to throw the Russian Paul Regiment". The hint to Borodino can be explained as the wish to convey an understanding of the subject to the European exhibition visitor; for whom the term 'Borodino' is exemplary of the complete course of the war of 1812. The tradition of the family; who acquired the painting after the exhibition in 1914 and passed it on from generation to generation; gives us the opportunity to specify the episode depicted.
Dr. Olga Sugrobova-Roth; D黶seldorf 2017
Art trade; Van Ham.