01 Work, The art of War, Benjamin West's Edward III Crossing The Somme, with Footnotes

Benjamin West (1738-1820)

Edward III Crossing The Somme, c. 1788

Oil on canvas

140.0 x 153.1 cm 

The Royal Collection Trust

English offensives in 1345–1347, during the Hundred Years' War, resulted in repeated defeats of the French, the loss or devastation of much French territory and the capture by the English of the port of Calais. The war had broken out in 1337 and flared up in 1340 when the king of England, Edward III, laid claim to the French crown and campaigned in northern France. There was then a lull in the major hostilities, although much small-scale fighting continued.

On 16 August the English army outside Paris had turned north, they then became trapped in territory which the French had denuded of food. They escaped by fighting their way across the Somme against a French blocking force in the Battle of Blanchetaque on 24 August. More on Hundred Years' War

Benjamin West PRA (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence and the Seven Years' War. He was the second president of the Royal Academy in London, serving from 1792 to 1805 and 1806 to 1820. He was offered a knighthood by the British Crown, but declined it, believing that he should instead be made a peer. He said that "Art is the representation of human beauty, ideally perfect in design, graceful and noble in attitude. More on Benjamin West

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