 View Drawing At: 750x416 pixels 1500x832 pixels 2100x1166 pixels |
Title: Battaglia al ponte di Lodi |
| Author: Bagetti,
Giuseppe Pietro
Execution Date: Dimensions: 18cm x 10cm |
Archive: Galleria
d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino
Catalogue Number: Box 520, Sheet 13564 Material/Technique: pen and ink drawing |
Text on Image: |
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Description/Comments: This is an interesting pen and ink sketch by Bagetti as it is far more finished than most of his surviving sketches and suggests that for some paintings, perhaps those depicting the engagements of greatest military importance, there may have been an intermediate stage of depiction. In this sketch the soldiers are not depicted by coloured dots but by forms that are recognizably human. Although there does not appear to be a finished watercolour of the Pont de Lodi by Bagetti at the Service historique de l’armée de terre, either there was one, as there is an engraving of Bagetti’s view (engraved by Lameau and Misbach in Paris in 1837, Plate 34 in the collection of Bagetti’s engraved views), or the engraving was made from this view. The sketch is admirable for its overview of the action. Clearly visible are two cavalry crossings of the Adda, to the north and the south of Lodi, in support of the main action across the bridge. The topographic depiction is probably truer than in Bacler d’Albe’s gouache depiction as is the extent of the housing on the Austrian side of the river. The cannons are correctly placed on both sides of the river and it is clear that a large number of soldiers are crossing the bridge. But the drama of the moment is absent. The scene looks as it might to a passing villager interested in knowing the approximate disposition of the troops so as to better avoid them. For those interested in comparing a variety of battles of Lodi, there is another scene by Bagetti entitled 1ière vue de Lodi- Combat d’avant-garde en avant de cette ville, two by Gautier entitled Tête de Pont de Lodi (B571) and Porte de Lodi du côté de Milan (pencil sketch), and one by Carle Vernet, which looks more like a court scene than one of the most ferocious battles of the Italian campaign. |
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