Lot n° 354
Estimation :
4000 - 6000
EUR
Result without fees
Result
: 8 000EUR
Basilio LASINIO, attribué à - Lot 354
Basilio LASINIO, attribué à
"Atlas of the figures of all the Corps of the Army of the
Royaume d'Italie en grande tenue, y compris l'État-major général, selon l'ordre de Son Excellence le Ministre de la Guerre Pino au Bureau topographique de la Guerre, année 1806".
In folio (33 x 48 cm), 42 pages.
Bound in green morocco (the color of the kingdom of Italy), richly decorated in gold with foliage and Greek friezes on the boards and spine. Pink silk lining.
In antique but later boards.
Important collection presenting:
-Handwritten title page in Italian: "Atlante dé
Figurini di tutt'i Corpi dell'Armata del Regno d'Italia in grande tenuta, non escluso lo Stato-Maggiore Generale, eseguito per ordine di S.E. il Ministro della Guerra Pino nell'Ufficio Topografico della Guerra. Anno 1806".
-An index page presenting the forty plates of uniforms of the various corps of the Royal Italian Army contained in the collection.
A set of 40 pen-and-ink plates, watercolored and enhanced with gold and silver (slight wear), with captions in Italian (here translated), amounting to 107 figures and uniforms.
B.E. First Empire period (1806).
Provenance:
-Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, viceroy of Italy, son of Empress
Josephine, adopted son of Emperor Napoleon I, titled Duke of
Leuchtenberg in 1817.
-Descendants of the Dukes of Leuchtenberg.
-Auction of the Eugène de Beauharnais Library in Zurich on May 23 and 24, 1935.
Bibliothèque Eugène de Beauharnais et des Ducs de Leuchtenberg from Seeon Castle (Bavaria), no. 42.
-From private collection.
Historical background:
Our album is the missing link in our knowledge of the creation of uniforms for the army of the young Kingdom of Italy.
Offered by the topographical service of the Minister of War of the
Kingdom of Italy to Viceroy Eugène, this primary source offers an overview of the army newly created in July 1805, for traditional units such as cavalry, infantry and artillery, as well as technical and administrative corps.
The composition and uniforms of this army were radically overhauled the following year, with the regulations of July 1807, reinforcing the importance of our document.
Certain units, such as the Polish infantry and cavalry, heirs to the Polish legions serving the Cisalpine Republic, disappeared from Italian regulations the following year.
The Royal Italian Army showed great courage on the side of the French, notably in Spain, Russia and Germany. It returned in good order to its kingdom in 1814, containing the Austrian troops, before transferring to Austrian service after the fall of the French Empire.
Our work illustrating the uniforms of the Italian army was produced by the Topographical War Office of the Kingdom of Italy and can be attributed to Captain Basilio Lasinio. Around 1804, Lasinio produced a series of six watercolors of the uniforms of the Cisalpine Republic, signed and in the same style as our plates (preserved in the Brown Collection).
Biographies:
Eugène de BEAUHARNAIS (1781-1824)
Born in 1781, he became aide-de-camp to Bonaparte, his new father-in-law, in 1797. Present in Egypt and at Marengo, he followed a brilliant military career before being appointed Viceroy of Italy. Officially adopted by Napoleon in 1806, he married the daughter of the King of Bavaria, Auguste-Amoire.
Bavaria, Auguste-Amélie, a happy marriage that produced six children.
Covered in glory during the Russian campaign, his loyalty to the Emperor earned him the respect of all, worthy of the motto he had adopted: "Honor and Loyalty". After Waterloo, he took refuge in Munich, where his father-in-law appointed him Duke of Leuchtenberg, and devoted himself to his estates. His sister Hortense remained his confidant and sincere friend.
Hortense, he visited her in her retreat at Arenenberg, but died prematurely in Munich, where he was buried in 1824. One of his daughters,
Joséphine de Leuchtenberg married Oscar Bernadotte, Royal Prince of Sweden, who reigned from 1844 to 1859. She thus became sovereign of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Basilio LASINIO (1766-1832)
Born in? Treviso in 1766 and trained under his brother Carlo Lasinio (1759-1838), a famous Florence engraver, Basilio frequented the Uffizi Gallery in the Medici capital.
On January 15, 1788, at the age of 22, Basilio joined the Serenissima army as a cadet in the sixteenth Treviso regiment. He served the
French from 1797.
Engraver, topographer and officer, he worked as an artist for the topographical office of the Ministry of War of the Kingdom of Italy.
For further information: Massimo ROSSI, "L'archivista e bibliotecario del corpo topografico del deposito della guerra di Milano (1801-1810), available on the Internet in Italian.
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