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The image depicts a battle scene from an elevated viewpoint, showing soldiers in action on a plain. In the background, there are distant mountains. The sky has soft clouds against a light blue backdrop, contrasting with the activity below. Soldiers in uniforms are seen on the plain, with billowing smoke and waving flags. The scene includes troops and artillery engaged in the distance. The color palette consists of earthy browns, blues, and grays, emphasizing the liveliness of the battle.
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The image depicts a battle scene from an elevated viewpoint, showing soldiers in action on a plain. In the background, there are distant mountains. The sky has soft clouds against a light blue backdrop, contrasting with the activity below. Soldiers in uniforms are seen on the plain, with billowing smoke and waving flags. The scene includes troops and artillery engaged in the distance. The color palette consists of earthy browns, blues, and grays, emphasizing the liveliness of the battle.

National Gallery of Art · Portfolio

Assault at Contreras

Adolphe-Jean-Baptiste Bayot, after Carl Nebel

Date
1851
Medium
hand-colored lithograph on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 27.78 × 42.55 cm (10 15/16 × 16 3/4 in.) sheet: 43.5 × 58.26 cm (17 1/8 × 22 15/16 in.)
Classification
Portfolio · Print
Accession number
2015.19.3616.6
Credit line
Corcoran Collection
Time span
1851 to 1875
Department
CG-W
Original NGA record Wikidata

Portfolio and series

Portfolio
The War Between the United States and Mexico

Subjects and terms

  • American
  • Flag
  • lithograph
  • War
  • military
  • Soldier
  • Horse
  • Mountains
  • Guns
  • Mexico
Provenance

William Wilson Corcoran, Washington, DC; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art

Inscription

lower left on stone: C. Nebel fecit.; lower center on stone: Assault at Contreras; lower right on stone: Bayot lith.

Marks

stamped lower left in black ink: Entered / According to Act / of Congress

NGA object ID 216785. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.