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Peter von
Hess

Germany • 1792−1871

German painter of battle scenes. He studied at the Munich Academy. In 1813-1815 he participated in campaigns against the French. His artistic activity started with the Hess image of scenes from the soldiers ' and folk life, then moved to historical compositions. In 1839 he was invited by Nicholas I to Russia, where he completed a series of 12 paintings on the theme of the Patriotic war of 1812 and sketches and portraits of its participants. This series remained 10 paintings, now kept in the Hermitage.

The eldest son of Karl Ernst Christof Hess, the Bavarian court engraver on copper, from whom he received the first lessons in engraving. In 1806 he enrolled in the Munich Academy of arts, initially engaged in the landscape, influenced by A. Adam in 1813-1815 he participated in the campaigns against the French (was at the headquarters of field Marshal K. Harms), has captured a lot of military scenes.

The result of the campaign was the large painting "the Battle of Bar-sur-Aube" (1817). Later created a series of genre scenes from military life of the era 1812-1814: "Clash of the French Dragoons and Austrian hussars", "the Don Cossacks with captured French peasants", "the Transition of the Kirghiz and Cossacks across the Rhine" (all 1819), "Rob the Cossacks", "defense of the bridge at Hanau by General K. Pappenheimer" (both 1820), "Bivouac of Austrian troops," (1823), "the Attack of the Austrian lancers on the French van" (1829) etc.

In 1831 he accompanied king Otto to Greece, after which he depicted his arrival in Naviglio and the ceremonial entry into Athens (the two paintings are in the Munich "Pinakothek"); the result of his trip to Greece was, in addition, 39 pictures, representing the main episodes of the struggle of the Greeks for independence, and he has performed in collaboration with Nilsson, in the arcades of the Munich Hofgarten.

In 1839, at the invitation of Emperor Nicholas I visited Russia, was commissioned to paint for the Winter Palace a series of paintings about the most important battles of 1812, Along with the connoisseur of uniforms the General L. I. Keel toured the battle sites 1812, made many sketches (held in Munich). Witnessed jubilee celebrations 1839 in Borodino.

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