01 Work, The Art of War, Louis Masreliez's An Allegory of War, with footnotes

Louis Masreliez (1748 – 19 March 1810)

An Allegory of War

Oil on canvas

36 1/8 x 52 1/8 in. (92.5 x 132 cm.)

Private collection

Sold for USD 62,500 in Apr 2021

The present Allegory of War depicts a furious Minerva, Roman goddess of War, dismounting her horse-drawn chariot, shield in one hand, thunderbolt in the other, charging toward a distant battle. Above her flies the winged, bearded, bare-chested Boreas, ancient god of the cold North Wind, accompanied by winged zephyrs, who blow snowflakes from their mouths onto the ground below.

The historic Battle of Narva (an Estonian city on the border with Russia) was an early victory for Swedish troops in the Great Northern War (1700-1721), in which they fended off an attack by Russian military forces that outnumbered the Swedish army four-to-one. The Swedish military repelled the Russian offensive in part by advancing under cover of the terrible weather conditions: the Swedes struck at the exact moment a deep-freeze hit the region, the winds shifted, and a violent snowstorm blew directly at the Russian forces, blinding them with its intensity. The Russians, suffering devastating losses, soon capitulated. More on this painting

Louis Masreliez (1748 – 19 March 1810), born Adrien Louis Masreliez, was a French born, Swedish painter and interior designer.

Masreliez was born in Paris and came to Sweden at the age of 5 in 1753. He was the son of French ornamental sculptor Adrien Masreliez (1717–1806) and the elder brother of sculptor Jean Baptiste Masreliez (1753–1801).

He began his education at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (Ritakademien) at the age of 10. Since the academy did not teach painting, he studied in Stockholm at the workshop of ornament painter Lorens Gottman (1708–1779).

In 1769 he was given a study grant which he used to travel to Paris, Bologna and Rome to study. In Rome he spent time with several of the French, Italian and German artists who would shape the Neoclassicism decorative style. In 1783, Louis Masreliez was called back to Sweden after his twelve-year absence. Following his returned to Sweden, he became a member (ledamot) of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. The following year he was made a professor of art history. He became rector of the Academy in 1802 and director in 1805.

His work is represented in the Swedish Nationalmuseum, the Gothenburg Museum of Art, and the Royal Palace. More on Louis Masreliez

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