Museum Panorama The Battle of Borodino: Surrounded by 1812

Franz Roubaud, a Russian painter specializing in large panoramic paintings of battles, was commissioned to paint a scene of the Battle of Borodino for the 100th anniversary  of the Patriotic War of 1812.[1]

The work (inserted in hyperlink because the Omeka format doesn't allow for a panoramic image) was unveiled in 1911 and is housed in its own display room. The painting is a work of staggering detail and scope, depicting hundreds of soldiers and a grand, cohesive vision of combat.

I think that doing a close reading of this work allows us to see the state of memory regarding the War 100 years later. Principally, Roubaud's interpretation of the Battle of Borodino is incredibly romantic. It renders the scene in lush color. There's a gentle, faded pastel afternoon sky. While there's smoke and fire abound, it's almost difficult to spot depictions of death. We see some slain horses and soldiers, but they are few and far between and for each dead there are hundreds alive. We might imagine this battle, in which yielded estimates of almost 100,000 casualties, to be far bloodier than the scene Roubaud gives us. One is inclined to believe that this painting, which predates WWI and the Bolshevik Revolution, gives us an image strong Tsarist Russia's idealized remembrance of the Patriotic War of 1812 upon its 100th anniversary.

[1] Information on this page derived from “Museum Panorama The Battle of Borodino.” http://www.1812panorama.ru/english.html. Reaccessed December 16, 2016.

Wikipedia contributors. "Franz Roubaud." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 28 Nov. 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.