1822
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Passage du Mont St. Bernard (Napoleon's Army Crossing the St. Bernard Pass) is a 1822 ink by Théodore Géricault, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This crowded scene shows soldiers climbing a snowy mountain path. Some carry guns, others drag heavy packs or lead horses. Smoke swirls around them, and a few people in the center seem to be helping or guiding. In the background, a small village clings to the mountainside, with buildings half-hidden by the stormy sky. The artist used quick, sketchy lines to show the chaos of the moment—no time for smooth details. This wasn’t painted but drawn using lithography, a printing method that lets artists work fast and loose. Next, check out lithography to see how this technique changed art.
Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (French: ; 26 September 1791 – 26 January 1824) was a French painter and lithographer.
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