Cleveland Museum of Art

Return from Russia

Théodore Géricault

Date

c. 1818

Medium

lithograph printed in black and ochre with watercolor added by hand

Culture

France, 19th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Géricault was an accomplished lithographer who realized the potential of the medium. Two stones were used to print this image—one for the design printed in black and the other to create the broad areas of tone printed in ochre. This is one of the earliest French lithographs in which a second color is somewhat integrated into the image instead of just being used for the overall background. Géricault added white watercolor to indicate snow on the lower portion of the scene. Unlike other artists who glorified the Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815), Gericault portrayed a realistic image of the misery and horrors of combat. This scene of two wounded soldiers and exhausted, starving animals is a powerful statement of the pitiful conditions following Napoleon's defeat by the Russians. This print was created at a time when Théodore Géricault was focusing on military subjects in his prints, drawings, and paintings.

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