Theodore LE BLANC (c. 1800-1837). "Croquis d'après nature faits pendant trois ans de séjour en Grèce et dans le Levant" (published in Paris, by Gihaut Frères Editeurs, 1833). Missing the title page, In-folio (43,5 x 30,5 cm), Complete with the 30 lithographs coloured and enhanced with gum arabic. Bound in purple morocco (wear). Some foxing to the plates, small marginal tears, extremities rubbed. Bibliography: Colas 1796; Adhémar 363; Blackmer 990. The French painter and officer Théodore Le Blanc (born in Strasbourg on 3 October 1800 and died as a result of the assault on Constantine on 13 October 1837) was both an artist and a committed soldier. The son of Jean-François Le Blanc, an engineer captain, and Caroline Pluchard, he naturally followed the military path, becoming a captain in the 2nd engineer regiment. Alongside his career as an officer, he studied painting with L.-T. Charlet and Baron Gros, and had close ties with Théodore Géricault. Before 1833, he spent around three years in Greece, Constantinople and Asia Minor, between 1825 and 1827. Although this period corresponded to the French scientific expedition to Morea (1829-1830), his artistic activity remained independent. Le Blanc drew from nature, combining a sense of observation with expressiveness. His works, sometimes tinged with a certain caricatured humour, nonetheless exude a striking emotional intensity. His paintings, which are now rare, include portraits, scenes from the Greek War of Independence - which he portrayed in a more realistic and vivid manner than the idealised representations then in vogue - and scenes of daily life in the Levant. His talent for painting history and battles was acclaimed at the Salon of 1836, particularly for his Russian Campaign. Three of his paintings are in the Musée de Versailles: "Les Grecs palicares devant Lépante" (Salon of 1833), "Combat de l'Habrah" and "Marche de l'armée française après la prise de Mascara" (1835). The Musée du Louvre also has a watercolour by him. He also took part in the Algerian campaign, which he documented with rare accuracy, sketching several key episodes from life.