 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(September 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Louis-François Lejeune | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Constantin Prévost, 1847 | |
| Born | (1775-02-03)3 February 1775 Strasbourg, France |
| Died | 29 February 1848(1848-02-29) (aged 73) Toulouse, France |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of France French First Republic First French Empire |
| Branch | French Royal Army French Revolutionary Army French Imperial Army |
| Years of service | 1792–1824 |
| Rank | Brigade general |
| Battles / wars | French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars |
| Awards | Commander of the Legion of Honour Knight of the Order of Saint Louis |
| Other work | Mayor ofToulouse Painter and engraver |
Brigade-GeneralLouis-François, Baron Lejeune (3 February 1775 – 29 February 1848) was aFrench Army officer, painter, lithographer and politician who served in theFrench Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. His memoirs have frequently been republished and his name is engraved on theArc de Triomphe.
He studied painting in the studio ofPierre-Henri de Valenciennes, alongsideJean-Victor Bertin, but left the studio to volunteer in theCompagnie des arts de Paris in 1792. He received his baptism of fire in thebattle of Valmy later that year. He became a sergeant in the 1st Arsenal battalion and in 1793 moved to the artillery atLa Fère, assisting in the sieges ofLandrecies,Le Quesnoy andValenciennes. At Valenciennes he becameaide-de-camp to General Jacob then, as a lieutenant on attachment to the engineers, took part in the 1794 Holland campaign and the 1795 campaign.
Called to the depot in 1798, he succeeded brilliantly in his exams and was made a captain on attachment to the engineers. He became aide-de-camp to MarshalBerthier in 1800, a post he retained until 1812 and in which he took an active part in practically all of theNapoleonic campaigns. He was wounded and captured inSpain. He was promoted to full captain afterMarengo and chef de bataillon afterAusterlitz, also becoming a knight of theLégion d'honneur and a colonel at theSiege of Saragossa.
The German campaign of 1806 brought him toMunich, where he visited the workshop ofAlois Senefelder, the inventor oflithography. Lejeune was fascinated by the possibilities of the new method and whilst there he made the drawing on stone of his famousCossack (printed by C. and ~f. Senefelder, 1806). Whilst he was taking his dinner, and with his horses harnessed and waiting to take him back to Paris, one hundred proofs were printed, one of which he subsequently submitted to Napoleon. The introduction of lithography into France was greatly due to the efforts of Lejeune.
In 1812, during the French invasion of Russia, he was madebrigade general and chief of staff toDavout. Frostbitten on the face, Lejeune left his post during the retreat from Russia and was arrested on the orders ofNapoleon. Freed in March 1813, Lejeune was then sent to the Illyrian provinces, before rejoining the army under the orders of MarshalOudinot, becoming his chief of staff. During the Saxony campaign, Lejeune was present at theBattle of Lutzen (1813), the crossing of theRiver Spree and atBautzen. He was made an officer of the Légion d'honneur and a commander of theOrder of Maximilian of Bavaria. At theBattle of Hoyersverda, whenFriedrich Wilhelm Bülow von Dennewitz's corps wiped out the 12th corps formed up in square on the plain, Lejeune (at risk of being kidnapped) ventured into the enemy lines with one battalion, General Wolf's cavalry and six 12 pounder guns. He thus broke the whole of the Prussian artillery and saved marshal Oudinot and his army. Wounded several times and lastly atHanau, he was authorised to leave the army in November 1813 after more than 20 years' service. After his departure from the army, he devoted himself to painting.
After an initial grant inHanover in 1808, and a second inWestphalia in 1810, he was made abaron d'Empire in 1810. Already a member of the cross of theOrder of Leopold, Lejeune was made aknight of St Louis byLouis XVIII and in 1823 a commander of the Légion d'honneur. He returned to the army (now under theBourbons) from 1818 to 1824, becoming commander ofHaute-Garonne in 1831. On 2 September 1821 he married Louise Clary, sister of General Marius Clary and niece ofDésirée Clary, queen of Sweden by her marriage withJean-Baptiste Bernadotte. In 1824 the king of Sweden conferred on Lejeune the grand-cross of theOrder of the Sword. In 1837 he became director of the École des beaux-arts et de l’industrie inToulouse, a city of which he became mayor in 1841 and in which he died of a heart attack aged 73.
Lejeune's name has been inscribed on theArc de Triomphe in Paris (19th column).
He produced an important series of battle-pictures based on his experiences. He had kept his paintbrushes with him on the battlefield and the popularity he enjoyed was due to the truth and vigour of his work, which was generally executed from sketches and studies made on the battlefield. His works are known for their lofty perspective' "offering a panoramic view of the totality of the battle's events."[1] When his battle-pictures were shown at theEgyptian Hall inLondon, a rail had to be put up to protect them from the eager crowds of sightseers. He is best known for his paintings of the Battle ofGuisando, which appeared in 1819 to enormous success, and of theBattle of Borodino, his masterwork. Many of his battle-pictures were engraved byJacques Joseph Coiny andEdme Bovinet. He also produced several studies of uniforms in the French Imperial Army, such as those of the lancers ofBerg underMurat and of Berthier's aides-de-camp.
Among his chief works areThe Entry of Charles X. into Paris, 6 June 1825 (commemorating theCoronation of Charles X) atVersailles;Episode of the Prussian War, October 1807 atDouai Museum;Marengo (1801);Lodi, Thabor, Aboukir (1804);The Pyramids (1806); andPassage of the Rhine in 1795 (1824).
In the historical novelThe Battle, Lejeune is a main character.
.jpg)
.jpg)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lejeune, Louis François, Baron".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 405.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Media related toLouis-François Baron Lejeune at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
