NAP0443-NAP0448 Russian Holy Virgin of Smolensk Vignette Sets! (1 Viewer)

FirstLegion

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Continuing on our theme of doing multi-figure vignette sets, this time we turn to the Russian Army of the Napoleonic Wars for what we think is a fantastic little vignette capturing a unique moment in history. This release takes place on the evening of September 6th 1812. The Virgin of Smolensk icon was paraded before the Imperial Russian army the night before the battle to steel the men’s nerves for the horrors that would follow the next morning on the fields of Borodino, the single bloodiest one day battle of the Napoleonic Wars. We sincerely hope you enjoy them!

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NAP0443 Russian Priest $69.95
NAP0444 Russian Boy with Religious Gonfalon - $84.95
NAP0445 Russian Grenadier and Moscow Militia with Virgin of Smolensk Icon - $129.95
NAP0446 Russian Izumsky Hussar Officer - $69.95
NAP0447 Simbirsky Musketeer Kneeling - $59.95
NAP0448 Moscow Grenadier Kneeling - $59.95
PRE-ORDER, SHIPPING EARLY MAY 2013

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Best,

Matt
First Legion
 
Matt,

you are excelling yourself with this set,

Brilliant !!!!!

John
 
Hi Guys,
This is a wonderfully done set for sure :salute:::salute:: .
Here are a few Beautiful renditions by Russian artists of the event for members who may have an interest, enjoy . regards Gebhard
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I just finished collecting this Vignette or series and I have to say it's fantastic, like Matt said. They're some of the most unique pieces that I have and I thank Matt and Constantin for making something so clearly different. In my opinion, they're a must have.

Gebs, I'm wondering where you got those paintings from and can direct me to the sites, if you remember them.
 
Here's another image.

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The Virgin of Smolensk icon is known as the “Hodigitria” Icon of the Theotokos, or “She who leads the way,” and apparently dates from early times in Antioch, possibly the 5th Century. The original icon may have been lost although Russians claim that it founds its way to Smolensk after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Other accounts indicate that it may have been removed to Smolensk in the 12th Century. It appears that the icon may have been destroyed during WW II.
 
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Gebs, I'm wondering where you got those paintings from and can direct me to the sites, if you remember them.

Hi Brad,

It's been over two years since I made that post and I really can't remember where I lifited those images from sorry I wish I could, they are the best on the subject IMO. I have thousands and thousands of images saved on my computer that I use for research. Many thousands I have taken myself of uniforms and equipment from collections around the world as well as some of the original paintings that hang in Museums and in private hands. Also many countless hours of global internet searching and correspondence with other uniform collectors and researchers in a few languages, Toy Soldiers are only one of my Hobbies and to be honest its by far the most inexpensive :wink2:.

It's really cool to see you becoming so interested in the age of Napoleon and especially the Russian invasion or Great Patriotic War of 1812 if you prefer :wink2: :salute:::salute::. regards Gebhard
 
Coincidentally, I got to that part last night in War & Peace; Tolstoy devotes two pages to it.
 
Gebs,

I think the 1812 invasion and war with France is the Patriotic War whereas the Great Patriotic War is the struggle against Germsny in WW II.
 
Gebs,

I think the 1812 invasion and war with France is the Patriotic War whereas the Great Patriotic War is the struggle against Germsny in WW II.

That's why I said the Great Patriotic War of 1812 specifically :wink2:. I thought you may get some joy out of that since your reading War and Peace and just watched the mini series ^&grin
 
Thanks. I've purchased the Bondarchuk version and have begun to watch it. I'm about two thirds way through the book. Tolstoy's version of history is quite interesting.
 
Thanks. I've purchased the Bondarchuk version and have begun to watch it. I'm about two thirds way through the book. Tolstoy's version of history is quite interesting.

What is interesting about? Does he take liberties for the story or to make a point?
 
His theory of history is that what leaders do have nothing to do with actual outcomes, so what Napoleon and Alexander did is overstated. It is the little actions by the soldiers in the field that lead to certain events that have certain consequences. It is the confluence of many little causes that lead to something, not just the will of a leader. It's similar to when you drop a pebble in a pond and the ripple leads to a larger ripple, which leads to a larger ripple and so forth.

Here's a quote from W & P that may better explain his theory. Suffice it to say, this theory has been much disputed.

The actions of Napoleon and Alexander, on whose words the event seemed to hang, were as little voluntary as the actions of any soldier who was drawn into the campaign by lot or by conscription. This could not be otherwise, for in order that the will of Napoleon and Alexander (on whom the event seemed to depend) should be carried out, the concurrence of innumerable circumstances was needed without any one of which the event could not have taken place. It was necessary that millions of men in whose hands lay the real power—the soldiers who fired, or transported provisions and guns—should consent to carry out the will of these weak individuals, and should have been induced to do so by an infinite number of diverse and complex causes.

We are forced to fall back on fatalism as an explanation of irrational events (that is to say, events the reasonableness of which we do not understand). The more we try to explain such events in history reasonably, the more unreasonable and incomprehensible do they become to us.
 
Thanks. I've purchased the Bondarchuk version and have begun to watch it. .

Brad,
Your gonna love it my friend, IMO its the best film version of War and Peace by a long shot. His Battle scenes are just incredible, they just don't make films like that anymore. I'm sure you've seen Waterloo which he directed as well so sit down and enjoy, you won't see a more realistic vision of a Napoleonic Battle on screen.
I have to warn ya, his two Napoleonic films can help lead you to a lifelong obsession with all things Napoleonic ^&grin regards Gebhard
 
Here is another interesting quote from W and P about historical forces on the eve of the Battle of Borodino:

And it was not Napoleon who determined the course of the battle, because none of his instructions were carried out, and during the battle he had no knowledge of what was happening out in front of him. This is to say that the manner in which these men slaughtered one another was not the result of Naloleon's will; the killing went on independently, resulting from the will of all the participants in their hundreds of thousands. It only seemed to Napoleon that everything was due to his will.​
 

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