The German title of this work in Boetticher is " Erstürmung des Dorfes Planchenois in der Schlacht bei Belle-Alliance" ( in English: The Storming of the village Planchenois in the battle by Belle-Alliance"). As it's known, the name Belle-Alliance (French "beautiful marriage" or "beautiful Alliance") is the name of a former guest house that Napoleon Bonaparte served as headquarters in the Battle of Waterloo. In the Prussian and German historiography, the name "Battle of Belle Alliance" was also used until the 20th century. This is due to Blücher, which already used this name in his reports on 21 June 1815.

Full description of this episode in the battle read in English under following link:

http://familypedia.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo

Our painting was executed in 1843 by famous German military painter Ludwig Elsholtz (1805 - Berlin - 1850) and exhibited at the exhibition of the Berlin Academy in 1844.

Ludwig Elsholtz (1805-1850) is famous German genre and battle painter. He was born on June 2, 1805, in Berlin , from 1822 studied at the Berlin Academy of Arts , and later refined his skills under the direction of Franz Kruger (1797-1857), from 1828 to 1844, took part in exhibitions of the Academy, , where his genre and military scenes enjoyed constant popularity thanks to the elegance of the brush and the subtlety of the observation. His battle paintings were created on behalf of the Prussian king. His most known works: "Die Volkerschlacht bei Leipzig" (Battle of Leipzig), "Die Schlacht bei Dennewitz" (Battle of Dennevice), "Die Erstürmung des Dorfes Planchenois in der Schlacht bei Belle-Alliance (The Stürmung of the village Planchenois in the battle of Belle-Alliance (Waterloo); "Der Einzug Der Alliierten in Paris" (the arrival of the Allies in Paris), "Abschied auf dem Schlachtfeld" (Farewell on Battlefield) and " Szene aus der Schlacht bei Bautzen" (the scene from the Battle of Bautzen) Painting by Elsholtz were highly valued by Prussian and Russian aristocracy, including Emperor Nicholas I. "The Beginning of the Fight", dated 1834 is in the Berlin National Gallery; "The battle of Leipsic", painted in 1833 was in the possession of the German Emperor.

Two works by Elzholtz are in Russian museums: "Blücher on the battle field" - is the Hermitage, St.Petersburg and "Prussian Hussars" - in the collection of museum and former summer residence of Russian Royal house "Tsarskoe Selo".

Our work and few other works by Elsholtz with the author's biography see also in Russian under following link:

http://impereur.blogspot.co.at/2015/01/ludwig-elsholz-1805-1850.html

Exhibitions: This work was exhibited in the Berlin Academy in 1844 (due to Boetticher)

Provenance: in 19th century : former estate of Mr. Rönnert (as inscribed in Boetticher), bought by the last owner on the sale of Duesseldorf Art auction house in 2011.

Literature: "Malerwerke des 19 Jahrhunderts" (in English: List of paintings of 19th century) by Friedrich von Boetticher, p.264, No. 18, Leipzig, 1891; Thieme/Becker"Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart" (in English: General lexicon of artists from the antique to presence), Leipzig, 1999; in on-line: Wikipedia in Russian, English and German in the articles about Waterloo (incl. images of this painting).

Inscription: signed and dated " L.Elsholtz pinxit 1843", lower right.

Technique: oil on canvas , luxuriously antique gold-plated frame.

Measurements: unframed 39 3/4" x h 36" (101 x 91,5 cm); framed w 47 5/8" x h 42 7/8" (121 x 109 cm)

Condition: in good condition, canvas was in the past professionally relined and recently cleaned.