Alexandre DEBELLE (Voreppe 1805 - Grenoble 1897) The Siege of Grenoble by the Allies in 1815 Original canvas Height : 34,5 cm Width : 52 cm Monnogrammed and dated lower left "A.D. 1860"; recent inscriptions in pen on a label on the reverse of the stretcher indicating the title of the painting Our painting is a sketch for the painting in the Musée Dauphinois in Grenoble (178 x 264 cm), dated 1861. In 1815, after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, the Allied troops invaded France to restore Louis XVIII to power. Loyal to the Emperor, the town of Grenoble refused to surrender and was besieged by Austrian and Sardinian forces commanded by General Frimont. General Marchand, at the head of the imperial garrison, organised the defence and held out for several days. Despite a few bombardments, the Allies were unable to take the town by force. When news of the capitulation of Paris reached Grenoble, General Marchand negotiated the surrender in July 1815. The fighting took place at the crossroads of rue du Chemin-Neuf and rue Très-Cloîtres, with the Bastille on the right and the summit of Mucherotte on the left. In the painting in the Musée de Grenoble, the church of Saint Joseph is clearly visible in the background on the left. In 1860, Debelle had been curator of the Grenoble museum for 7 years, after spending ten years in Antoine Jean Gros's studio in Paris. To paint his account of the events of 1815, he drew on his memories (he was 10 years old) and those of his father and uncle. His father Joseph Guillaume Debelle (1779 - 1816), a regimental captain, is shown with his wooden leg in the foreground. Expert: TURQUIN firm