Alphonse de Neuville
Le Cimetière de Saint-Privat, c. 1881
Oil on canvas
H. 236,0 ; W. 344,0 cm.
Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay)
Alphonse de Neuville, like Edouard Detaille, was one of the main artists to paint episodes from the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and the theme recurs frequently in his prolific production. At the Salon of 1873, where he exhibited The Last Cartridges, an episode in the fighting around Sedan in September, he was a great success and was promoted to the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honour.
From then on, he produced monumental paintings of various episodes in which the French troops had distinguished themselves, participating in the idea of revenge while defending and strengthening Republican patriotism. Here he evokes the last moments in the battle in the Cemetery of Saint Privat, near Metz, on 18 August 1870, where Marshal Bazaine's army was fighting the first and second corps of the Prussian army.
After visiting the site to familiarise himself with the lay of the land, de Neuville chose a lateral view which confines the spectator in the foreground slightly below the scene of the fighting, facing the last French defenders who can be recognised by their red trousers. The soldiers, surrounded on all sides, are depicted in theatrical poses. The light filtering through the smoke in the upper part of the painting intensifies the dramatic effect. Exhibited in 1881, this painting was a further triumph for its author who was immediately promoted to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honour. More on this painting
Alphonse de Neuville was one of those painters who was spared the difficulties often associated with the life of an artist. Only his premature death matches the cliché. Despite his sheltered youth, de Neuville was not an artist for pacifists; after all, he was born in a period of war and himself served as an officer in the French army.
The famous battle painter was born in 1836 in Saint-Omer, the son of a rich landed nobility. The small town is located on the northeast coast of France, not far from the famous port of Calais. De Neuville received a good school education and was not at all interested in painting during his childhood and youth, but showed great enthusiasm for the many technical achievements that began to change the world in the mid-19th century . This passion is also reflected in his professional aspirations. After obtaining his high school diploma, he decided to become an engineer and attended the Lorient Naval Academy. Here de Neuville not only cultivated contact with other cadets, but he also came into contact for the first time with scientists, philosophers and artists. The young Alphonse was particularly impressed by the history and portrait painter Francois Edouard Picot , whose student he eventually became. Picot maintains contacts with Parisian salons and introduces his student to these environments. This is also how he came into contact with Eugene Delacroix , an important pioneer of Impressionism. In his Parisian studio, de Neuville continued his artistic training and was able to present his first major work, "Episode of the Crimean War", to the Parisian public a year later.
He then began working as a designer for publishing houses and illustrated works by well-known authors such as Alexandre Dumas and Jules Verne. His career as an artist was interrupted in 1870/1871 by the Franco-Prussian War, in which he participated as an officer. The experiences of the war must have had a strong influence on him and therefore determined his favorite subject. In post-war Paris, he quickly progressed to become a highly respected battle painter. He received numerous awards for his work and was first made a knight, then an officer of the Legion of Honor. His patriotic style is part of the era of moral renewal that France experienced after the lost war, even if modern criticism often accuses the artist of glorifying war. His powerful and optimistic paintings are still admired today.
The best known are the two paintings "The Last Cartridges" and "The Cemetery of Saint-Privat", whose great success he owes to his admission to the Legion of Honor. More on Alphonse de Neuville
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