Terugkeer uit Rusland 1818

Théodore Géricault made this lithograph titled 'Terugkeer uit Rusland', or 'Return from Russia', during the period following Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign, in which hundreds of thousands of soldiers perished. Here, Géricault depicts a scene of weary soldiers struggling through a desolate, snow-covered landscape. The print captures the physical and emotional toll of war, reflecting a sense of exhaustion and despair. We can see this in the slump of the horse's head, the way the soldier leads the horse, and the tired and grizzled face of the rider. Géricault, deeply affected by the human cost of conflict, made a conscious effort to portray the suffering of ordinary soldiers. Instead of glorifying warfare, he presents an alternative narrative centered on the experiences of those marginalized by history. He allows us to consider the emotional weight of such a devastating defeat, the trauma of which shaped the soldiers' identities. This print serves as a poignant reminder of the human consequences of military ambition.