Engraved portraits of Marshals of France of first half of 19th century in collection of V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine. Iconographic Study

The aim of the research is to study the iconography of engraved portraits of the Marshals of France of the Napoleonic era presented in the Gavard Ch. Galerie de mareshaux de France, Paris, 1839 edition from the collection of V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine. The methodology of the study is based on employing iconographic and iconological methods, as well as comparative art-study (formal) analysis of the images created in the lifetime of the concrete portrayed person and at a later time - in various forms and genres of figurative arts, as well as documents, literature, primarily, the memoirs of their contemporaries. Scientific novelty. The iconography of Napoleon's marshals has been traced relying on the examination of various forms of fine art (monumental sculptures, battlefield paintings, genre scenes, full-dress and intimate portraits, miniatures, engraved portraits and even the works of small plastic art, and those of decorative art), as well as memoirs of contemporaries. Conclusions. The practical results of the study is the specification of certain entries in the catalogue description and V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine electronic database "European engraved portrait of the 16th-19th centuries in the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine collection". The iconographic study of some engraved portraits of the marshals of France from the Gavard Ch. Galerie de marechaux de France, Paris, 1839 edition suggests that all the authors of the "Gallery" repeatedly turned to the available images of the portrayed marshals, and following the general composition scheme set by their customers, they created a wholesome graphic portrait gallery of national heroes that won a memorial status in the eyes of succeeding generations.