So I ran across the painting on the left on Wednesday, it rang a bell. The painting is by one of my favorite French artists, Édouard Detaille. So is the one on the right, one of my favorite paintings by Monsieur Detaille, it depicts Colonel Louis Lepic of the French Imperial Guard, commanding the Grenadiers à Cheval at the 1807 battle of Preussisch-Eylau. Apparently the good colonel is chastising his troopers, using very colorful language, for ducking in anticipation of being possibly hit by enemy fire.
Now the painting on the left, depicts the French Carabiniers à Cheval at some unnamed battle in Russia during Napoléon's disastrous Russian Campaign of 1812.
Notice anything about the two paintings? They were both painted by the same man, in the same year, 1893. It would be interesting to know what Monsieur Detaille's thought process was in having two paintings, essentially the same in composition but depicting two different units, in two different campaigns. One wonders.
All that aside, I truly enjoy Monsieur Detaille's work. Here are more of his works -
 |
| Vive L’Empereur! French Hussars at the Charge Painted in 1891 |
 |
| Le Rêve French soldiers of Napoléon III Dreaming of their forefathers, the soldiers of the first Napoléon. Painted in 1888 |
 |
| Napoléon III at the Battle of Solferino Painted in 1863 |
 |
| 1814. Campagne de France Painted in 1864 |
 |
| 1807, Friedland Painted in 1875 |
Of course the aftermath of all that "glory" is not as pretty, not at all.
 |
| Bringing Cleburne In After the Battle of Franklin, 01 December 1864 Painting by Mort Künstler, another superb artist and yes, another favorite. (Source) |
Hey Old AFSarge;
ReplyDeleteYep I recognized the work, it is very popular with the stories and battles of the Napoleonic era. There is a few you didn't show, I am going by memory here, it shows the climatic battle of Waterloo with the Black Watch either attacking or defending a position and it also was very good. Yay I am first.
Oh there are hundreds I didn't show MrG, though I was sore tempted...
DeleteI recall a painting of the Black Watch being attacked by French cavalry at Quatre-Bras, part of the Waterloo campaign, which is pretty well done.
The one that I always remember is of the 7th at Little Bighorn as it was a part of my childhood. On the marker on what is known as Custer Hill is the name of a distant relative. Private Richard K. Dorn was KIA on 26 June 1876 while dug in with Reno and Benteen some five miles to the south of where Custer and his force were annihilated.
ReplyDeleteI've seen a number of paintings of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, some better than others, all illustrating the desperateness of the Custer fight.
DeleteIt almost looks as if in the first two paintings that the painter used the same sketch and just changed the uniforms.
ReplyDeleteThat was my thought as well, though the one on the right seems better executed.
DeleteHow many of these paintings hang in your manse?
ReplyDeleteSigh, I wish I could say "all of them," but The Missus Herself's taste in art is different than mine. So the answer is "none of them."
DeleteHello? Testing, can anyone hear me?
ReplyDeleteNice paintings, Sarge. I agree with Capt Steve’s assessment. Probably had two separate requests and needed to get them done in a hurry., but my expertise in art expired when I failed artt in kindergarten, so who knows.
Juvat is alive! Read you five by five.
DeleteOn the paintings, I'm guessing "management" had a hand in that. To wit: "I don't care if they look the same, get them done, the customer is waiting!"
A little known truth but well known to recruiters and propagandists, they also serve who stand and paint.
ReplyDeleteA great recruiting tool indeed. Ditto to the propaganda usage.
DeleteAs to "they also serve who stand and paint" - brilliant!
Here's an old-timey one I favor. http://rememberedsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/olds.jpg
ReplyDeleteInteresting creatures, humans. We hate the consequences but many of us thrill to the mortal contest. I can't even come close to wrapping my mind around the dichotomy there. Probably deeply rooted in the reptilian R complex deep in the root of the brain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triune_brain
Fun to think about.
Great post with cool pitchers!
A great example of Robert Taylor's artwork! (You can clearly see, if you're the imaginative sort, why one of the Phantom's nicknames was "Rhino.")
DeleteNot real clear on why Dr. MacLean's theory has been pooh-poohed in the 2000s, of course I'm not very well read in that area.
Thanks Shaun.
There is a whole set of rules or guidelines about which way people face and what is the center of interest (vs center of painting) that supposedly sets up the tone of the painting. Facing left vs facing right, background lighting, the whole nine yards. So if the paintings may seem formulaic, well, they probably are.
ReplyDeleteStill great paintings.
And, really, if they are for two separate clients and never to be seen next to each other, why the heck not? Takes less time to compose, easier on the assistants who do the grunt work, and so forth.
As to paintings, would it terribly surprise you that I despise anything where you have to guess what the subject of the painting is?
No, it would not. I share you opinion on that topic, if I have to guess, it ain't art.
DeleteHe would have a case to sue for plagerism, except that he is the plagiarizer. Interesting comparison.
ReplyDeleteIt is, isn't it?
DeleteHe changed the horse poses.
ReplyDeleteYou'd've thought he could've moved the bodies on the ground?
I know...
DeleteDetaille just did what other artists in other mediums have done. Plenty of musicians use the same chords, and sometimes their music sounds a lot alike. Disney is well known for re-purposing animation cells. It's pretty blatant in those particular paintings, but at least it's his own work, and not someone "sampling" (aka stealing) his stuff.
ReplyDeleteGood point. Hey, artists need to eat too.
Delete