\paperw4995 \margr0\margl0 \plain \f1 \ATXsh255 French painter. \ATXsh4607 \par
\ATXsh255 He entered DavidÆs studio as an adolescent. In Genoa he enlisted in the army and became
a member of the General Staff. Over the course of NapoleonÆs Italian campaign he continued to paint, completing the large ôDavidianö picture of \i Napoleon Crossing the Bridge of Arcole\i0 (1799, Versailles, ChΓteau Royal). When he left the army he dev
oted himself entirely to historical paintings on a large scale: \i The Battle of Nazareth\i0 (1801, Paris, Louvre) and \i Napoleon Visiting the Plague-stricken at Jaffa\i0 (1804, Paris, Louvre). The two paintings \i Marat at the Battle of Aboukir\i0 (
1806, Versailles, ChΓteau Royal) and the \i Battlefield of Eylau\i0 (1808, Paris, Louvre) laid the foundations for a profound renewal of French and European painting. After the fall of Napoleon and return of the Bourbons, Gros painted the \i Allegory of
Charles\i0 in the Louvre, thus demonstrating his renunciation of revolutionary ideals.\ATXsh4607
