Battle of Austerlitz--Chandler See

“La bataille d’Austerlitz. 2 decembre 1805” shows Napolean’s success at the Battle of Austerlitz where the Holy Roman Empire was defeated by Napolean’s forces. This defeat saw the dismantlement of the Holy Roman Empire. In the painting Napolean is riding to see the general of the Holy Roman Empire to accept the general’s defeat after the battle. In the painting, the sun rays shine on Napoleon to show how this is God's work and why Napoleon won the fight. The darkness in the background of the work shows how the Holy Roman Empire was the threat on the battle feild.

This artwork titled “La bataille d'Austerlitz. 2 decembre 1805” was created by François Gérard, also known as Baron Gérard in 1810. Gérard was born in Rome, Italy in 1770 to the French ambassador to Italy and an Italian woman. Gérard studied under Jacques-Louis David. While working on artwork, Gérard’s father died and when Gérard came back to Paris he was in poverty. This poverty prevented him from doing much painting and instead made him focused on getting money. Eventually Gérard, in 1799, found a big break and painted an artwork of Madam Bonaparte, which established his place in the art world. Gérard then went on to paint “La bataille d’Austerlitz. 2 decembre 1805” a few years after his portrait of Madam Bonaparte. Gérard eventually died in 1837 after battling fever for three days