Nicolas, Aude Figures de Soldats

L'Heritage Atemporel de la campagne de Crimée 1854-1856. L'Art et les forces morales

Sevastopol, 8 September 1855. The most important naval base of the Russian Imperial Fleet in the Black Sea has just fallen into the hands of the Franco-British expeditionary force, supported by two small Turkish and Sardinian contingents, thus ending a year-long siege marked by deadly battles in extreme climatic conditions, with the ravages of intense cold and scorching heat adding to those of cholera. All these difficult factors could have destroyed the moral resistance of the besiegers in the face of the fanatical tenacity of the Russians entrenched in the city. Despite these unfavourable and gruelling conditions, however, the Allies prevailed. For the French soldiers, who had provided the largest force in the Crimean War since 1854, on the borders of a country whose distant exoticism made artists and audiences alike dream, the fall of the city had an eminently symbolic character: they had avenged their fathers, who had been trapped in the ice in the winter of 1812. Persevering despite everything, demonstrating resilience, cultivating and preserving the moral strength that gives one the advantage over the enemy: this is the essence of this conflict, which was most frequently depicted by painters, sculptors and photographers in the second half of the 19th century at the beginning of the first war reporting. Whether they were there and witnessed the events, sometimes alongside the troops, or whether they carefully documented themselves using articles, letters, maps and drawings published in weekly magazines, interviewing the soldiers after their return and having them pose for their compositions, the artists attempted to capture the uniqueness of this campaign, considered the first modern war. This book traces this moral heritage, which is expressed in works that focus on these soldier figures, whose images reflect their feelings in the face of this siege and these extraordinary circumstances. Even today, these artistic works reveal and convey the timeless nature of the human heart, which often produces unexpected resources in extreme situations and in the midst of highly intense combat.