Offered by Philippe Delpierre
Furniture and Works of Art from the 17th, 18th and early 19th century
Suite of four medallions dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812 by Fiodor Petrovitch Tolstoy (1783 – 1873) To commemorate "the patriotic war of 1812" so called by the Russians which is none other than the Russian campaign led by Napoleon I, Fiodor Petrovitch Tolstoy will create a series of twenty four medallions relating the different episodes of this campaign. It should be remembered that this Russian campaign led by Napoleon I was caused by the lifting of the continental blockade by Alexander I of Russia, a blockade imposed by Napoleon on all of Europe since 1806 against the United Kingdom. This series will be so successful that it will be duplicated in the form of stamps, medallions in porcelain, bronze or crystal. Our four stucco medallions represent respectively: The Battle of Borodino on August 26-September 7, 1812 The capture of Moscow by Napoleon September 14, 1812 The Battle of Krasny on November 3-6, 1812 The Battle of Arcy sur Aube on March 20-21 1814 Treated in a neo-classical way, each medallion takes up the ancient codes, namely the warrior in the guise of Hercules as can be seen on the medallion of the battle of Arcy sur Aube equipped with his shield and striking the enemy with his club, or in Roman armor repelling the enemy force. The pride of Russia and the desire to share this feeling, Fiodor Petrovich Tolstoy embodied it very early on and began this series by having his preparatory drawings approved by the academy. Fiodor Petrovich Tolstoy (1783 – 1873) was one of the very fashionable Russian designers and painters of the 1820s. He specialized in wax sculpture and designed a large number of medals.
