Antoine-Jean Gros
Pioneered Romanticism through realistic war scenes
Antoine-Jean Gros, titled as Baron Gros in 1824, was a French painter. His work was in the genres of history and neoclassical painting. Gros studied under Jacques-Louis David in Paris and began an independent artistic career during the French Revolution. Forced to leave France, he moved to Genoa and witnessed the nearby Battle of Arcole (1796). Inspired by an event during the battle, he produced a portrait of the French commander, Napoleon Bonaparte, then a newly promoted general. The portrait brought Gros to public attention and gained the patronage of Napoleon. After travelling with Napoleon's army for several years, he returned to Paris in 1799. Gros produced several large paintings of battles and other events in Napoleon's life. These were mostly in a neoclassical style, but Napoléon on the Battlefield of Eylau adopted a more realistic portrayal of the horrors of war. Gros also painted portraits of officers in the French army and members of French high society. After the fall of Napoleon, he shifted his artistic focus and produced more history paintings, which art historians regard as less impressive than his earlier work.
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Artworks by this artist
- Napoleon accepts the surrender of Madrid, 4 December 1808 1810
- Napoleon on the Battlefield of Eylau 1807
- Napoleon at the Battlefield of Eylau 1807
- Napoleon on Horseback
- Bonaparte at the Bridge of Arcole 1796
- Mars Crowned by Victory and Listening to Moderation
- General Bonaparte reviewing Troops c. 1802
- Egyptian Family (Sketch for ‘The Battle of the Pyramids’) c. 1835
- Portrait of a Man 18th or 19th century
- Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798 1810
- Portrait de Gérard-Christophe-Michel Duroc, duc de Frioul, en habit de Grand maréchal du palais 1801-1805
- Head of Charlemagne
- Arab of the Desert 1817
- Portrait of Second Lieutenant Charles Legrand circa 1810
- Bénédiction des drapeaux sur le parvis de Notre-Dame 1805
- Portrait of Count Jean-Antoine Chaptal 1824
- Le général Bonaparte remettant le sabre d’honneur aux grenadiers de la Garde après la bataille de Marengo
- Gloire des dynasties royales et impériales devant sainte Geneviève 1812
- Portrait of Count Honoré de La Riboisière (1788-1868) 1815
- il generale di lariboisiére dice addio al figlio alla vigilia della battaglia di borodino (7-9-1812) 1814