Portrait of Soult

Portrait of Soult  is an etching that belongs  to the suite AtlasBatt realized within Jacques Norvins' Histoire de Napoleon, published in 1837.

Author Jacques Norvins published one of the most comprehensive and influential histories on the life and military career of Napoleon, trough the works of the most important engravers of the time. 

14X22 cm.

Good conditions except for some yellow halos on the margins.

Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult was a French general, Duke of Dalmatia, Marshal of the Empire and minister.

Of bourgeois social origins, he made a rapid career in the army of the Republic, standing out for his energy and military ability during the revolutionary wars. Promoted to general in 1794, in 1804 he was appointed marshal of the Empire by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Regarded by the emperor as one of his best lieutenants and the "best maneuverer in Europe", he played a decisive role at the battle of Austerlitz and the battle of Jena.

Moved to command the army in Portugal and Spain in 1808, he scored many victories but, at odds with the other French commanders, failed to prevent the Duke of Wellington's British reinforcement. Nicolas Soult, not lacking in ambition, selfishness and

venality, was a skilled tactician and strategist capable of putting his adversaries in difficulty and always tenaciously contending for the pass to the enemy.