"Je l'ai gagnée à Friedland!" 1820 - 1822

Curator: This is Nicolas Toussaint Charlet's print, "Je l'ai gagnée à Friedland!", housed right here at the Harvard Art Museums. It captures a moment heavy with unspoken stories. Editor: Gosh, it's intensely personal, isn't it? The way the light falls, you can almost feel the weight of the unspoken narrative. Everyone seems suspended in a tableau of silent dignity. Curator: Absolutely. Charlet, deeply affected by his own experiences as a volunteer during the defense of Paris in 1814, often depicted the common soldier with dignity, challenging the era’s glorification of military leaders. It's a counter-narrative to the grand paintings of the Napoleonic era. Editor: And yet, there's a softness here, a vulnerability. Even amidst the visible hardships, there's a sense of shared humanity that resonates deeply. The raw textures almost speak to a refusal to sanitize or embellish the soldiers' story. Curator: The work humanizes war, and it also subtly critiques power, showing how history is built not just by generals but by the bodies and souls of ordinary people. Editor: It’s a gentle reminder that history is nothing if not the sum total of individual experiences, the quiet battles won and lost in the hearts of the unsung.