Louis Albert Guislain Bacler d'Albe

Bacler d'Albe (October 21, 1761 – September 12, 1824) was a French artist, as well as the map-maker and closest strategic advisor of Napoleon from 1796 until 1814.

Louis Albert Guislain Bacler d'Albe (1805)

He was considered one of the best map-makers of his time. He perfected the technique of relief shading, directed the Dépôt de la Guerre, and made the first homogeneous maps of Italy and then of Europe (with the title "Map of the Emperor"), lost during the retreat of Russia.

He was also considered an innovator in military art.

Biography

Louis Albert Guislain Bacler d'Albe was born in Artois in 1761. His father was a former treasurer of the Toul Regiment.

He left the south when he was 24, with his young spouse and made a successful career as a painter in the Mont-Blanc region between 1785 and 1793. He lived in Sallanches, where his two children, Joseph Albert (22 July 1789) and Marie Louis François (12 January 1792), were born.[1]

He was committed to defend the Republic in 1793 and participated in the siege of Lyon and the siege of Toulon and became captain of artillery.

He then was assigned to the Italian army between 1794 and 1797. He became the geography and cartography officer because of his artistic talents. He participated in the first campaign of Italy under the orders of Napoléon Bonaparte and notably fought in the Battle of Arcole. Bonaparte chose him as an artist and painter in order to popularise his victories.

References


  1. Despax, Marcelle (1954). Le général Bacler d'Albe et son fils (in French).


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