A Battle in a rocky Landscape, possibly Hannibal’s Army crossing the Alps

This drawing belongs to Bresdin’s corpus of elaborate battle scenes and vast marching formations, produced principally in the 1850s and 1860s, in which compressed figural clusters are set within barren, often mountainous or rocky terrains. Such subjects intrigued Bresdin throughout his career, examples include drawings in the British Museum, London (inv. 1929.0608.1), Chicago Art Institute, Chicago (inv. 1949.77) and one formerly in the Hegewisch Collection (sold at Christie's, London, 7 March 2026, lot 977).

According to Préaud (M. Préaud, Rodolphe Bresdin, 1822-1885: Robinson graveur, Paris, 2000, p. 20), drawings by Bresdin are relatively rare when compared with the artistic output of his contemporaries. His œuvre can be divided into two distinct categories: elaborate drawings made on fine ivory-coloured paper, typically signed and dated, and intended for exhibitions and sale; and working sketches, made for the artist's own reference. The present sheet, although not signed and dated, belongs to the first - and rarer - category.