Full title | The Battle of Valmy |
---|---|
Artist | Emile-Jean-Horace Vernet |
Artist dates | 1789 - 1863 |
Series | Four Battle Scenes |
Date made | 1826 |
Medium and support | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 174.6 x 287 cm |
Inscription summary | Signed; Dated |
Acquisition credit | Bequeathed by Sir John Murray Scott, 1914 |
Inventory number | NG2964 |
Location | Gallery A: Paintings after 1600 |
Collection | Main Collection |
The Battle of Valmy was the French army’s first major victory during the wars that followed the French Revolution of 1789. It was both a strategic and a psychological victory for the new French government and helped ensure the survival of the Revolution, which was to transform Europe. The battle took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops, led by the Duke of Brunswick, marched towards Paris. The Prussian advance was halted near the village of Valmy in north-eastern France.
This was the last to be completed of the four battle scenes that Vernet painted for the duc d‘Orléans. Vernet organises the composition around a triangle of raised sunlit ground, its edges defined by rows of soldiers. He gives a prominent position to the old windmill around which the French command was based. Slightly left of centre, the duc d’Orléans and his younger brother, the duc de Montpensier, report on the battle to the comte de Rochambeau, their presence a reminder of their early commitment to the Revolution.
This was the last of the four battle scenes that Vernet painted for the duc d‘Orléans. Completed in April 1826, Vernet received 10,000 francs for it. Along with The Battle of Jemappes, it was one of the battles in which the duke himself had fought. His involvement was so well-known that he acquired the nickname ’Monsieur de Valmy‘.
The battle was the French army’s first major victory during the wars that followed the French Revolution of 1789. Not only was Valmy the first chronologically of the four battles painted by Vernet (although painted last), but it was the most historically significant. It was a strategic and psychological victory for the new French government: within two days of victory the newly formed National Assembly abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the First French Republic. Both a vindication for French revolutionary forces and a humiliating defeat for the Prussian army, the unexpected French victory helped ensure the survival of the Revolution, which was to transform Europe. The German writer Goethe, who was at the battle with the Prussian army, tried to console his comrades by saying: ‘Here and today, a new epoch in the history of the world has begun, and you can boast you were present at its birth.’
The battle took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops, led by the Duke of Brunswick, marched towards Paris as part of a joint initiative by European monarchies to stop, or at least contain, the Revolution. However, the Prussian advance was halted by Generals François Kellermann and Charles Dumouriez near the village of Valmy in north-eastern France. Over half of the French infantry were regulars from the former Royal Army, as were most of the cavalry and artillery. This core of veterans was reinforced by volunteer battalions, whose patriotic fervour compensated for their lack of training and experience.
Vernet organises the composition around a triangle of raised sunlit ground, its edges defined by rows of soldiers. He gives a prominent position to the old windmill around which Kellermann based his command. Two dead horses are placed close to us. Slightly behind them to the left, the duc d’Orléans and his younger brother, the duc de Montpensier, who had also fought at Jemappes, report on the battle to the comte de Rochambeau. Their presence is a reminder of their early commitment to the Revolution.
The duc de Montpensier later recounted: ‘All the old soldiers have said they have never experienced such an intense situation; we were also as exposed as the regular soldiers, shells falling around us. General Kellermann was hit by a bullet which took part of his coat and gravely wounded his horse, but he, thank God, was unharmed; we were surrounded by bodies, by the dying wounded, pools of blood, never have I seen such a horrible sight; I believe we lost, both dead and gravely wounded, around 400 to 500 men; this sum is by no means exaggerated; but what touched me to my soul was seeing this motionless infantry watch their comrades fall at any moment amongst them shouting: Long Live the Nation!’
Vernet provides both historical authenticity, as we see the battle from Kellermann’s position on the slopes near Valmy, and meteorological accuracy – the almost black clouds are a reminder of the heavy downpour prior to the battle. As in the other pictures in the group, however, the soldiers are not merely their uniforms, but individuals whose gestures and expressions help draw us into the picture.
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Four Battle Scenes
Following the military defeat and abdication of Napoleon in 1815, the Bourbon monarchy was restored in France. These four large battle paintings were commissioned by the duc d'Orléans (1733–1850) who had returned to France after some 21 years in exile. In 1830 he became Louis-Philippe, King of the French.
Although painted during the period of the Bourbon Restoration, all four pictures – for which Vernet was paid 38,000 francs – show French victories during the previous era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. The duke had fought with the armies of the newly established French Republic at Jemappes and at Valmy, and was keen to demonstrate his Republican sympathies. The pictures were hung in prominent positions in the Palais-Royal in Paris and functioned as propaganda celebrating French military glory and the Duke’s own career and leadership. Completed over five years, the paintings are The Battle of Jemappes (1821), The Battle of Montmirail (1822), The Battle of Hanau (1824), and The Battle of Valmy (1826). Damaged by fire in the revolution of 1848, they were restored by Vernet himself.
Following the final military defeat and abdication of the Emperor Napoleon in 1815, the Bourbon monarchy was restored in France. These four large battle paintings were commissioned from Vernet by the duc d‘Orléans (1733–1850), who had returned to France after some 21 years in exile. In 1830 he became Louis-Philippe, King of the French. Although painted during the period of the Bourbon Restoration, the four pictures – for which the artist was paid 38,000 francs – show French victories during the previous era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.
Born in 1789, the year of the French Revolution, Vernet had helped defend Paris from enemy troops, for which he was awarded the Légion d’Honneur by Napoleon. He was highly regarded by Louis-Philippe, who called him by his first name, ’Monsieur Horace‘. The duke became his sponsor and, in addition to commissioning paintings, assisted Vernet’s election to the Academy in 1826 and his appointment as Director of the French Academy in Rome in 1828. This support for Vernet continued after Louis-Philippe was proclaimed king in 1830 after his cousin Charles X was forced to abdicate by the July Revolution.
During his early career, while Napoleon was still in power, Vernet had shown his skill in depicting soldiers and scenes of combat in a vivid and authentic manner that rejected the idealisation of classicism. In 1819 the duke commissioned him to paint several portraits commemorating his exile in Switzerland and two paintings that showed his military action as a young man. The duke had fought with the armies of the newly established French Republic at Jemappes (6 November 1792) and at Valmy (20 September 1792), two important battles of the French Revolutionary wars, and was also keen to demonstrate his Republican sympathies. Vernet himself proposed pictures of two additional battles, Hanau (30–31 October 1813) and Montmirail (11 February 1814), as he wished to celebrate the first military victories of the Revolution alongside the final victories of the Empire.
Vernet uses a similar format in all four paintings with each showing an almost aerial view of a panoramic landscape that allows him to fill the pictures with highly detailed individual scenes of dramatic action. This method of composition also introduced a new way of depicting combat. Rather than focus on the heroic actions of a single, almost superhuman, individual (such as Napoleon) or on high-ranking commanders, Vernet spreads the action across the painting as the entire army, acting as a collective group, becomes the principal agent. A victorious leader’s victory in battle is also dependent upon those he leads. Everyone’s uniforms, weapons, gestures and facial expressions, rather than those of just a select few, are painted in great detail, as are the landscapes and buildings.
When exhibited, the paintings proved extremely popular and helped Vernet acquire the status of ’national painter'. All four were hung in prominent positions in the Palais-Royal in Paris, where they functioned as propaganda celebrating French military glory and the duke’s career and leadership. When he was King, Louis-Philippe also had copies made for Versailles, where two still hang.
Vernet’s paintings were badly damaged by fire during the revolution of 1848, when the Palais-Royal was ransacked. Acquired by Lord Hertford in 1851 in a sale after Louis-Philippe’s death in 1850, they were restored by Vernet himself and are displayed in nineteenth-century frames.




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