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Military Watercolor French Cavalry Officer by Edouard Detaille

$2,500List Price

About the Item

Presented is a wonderful watercolor in a stylistic, incised, Period frame, attributed to the renown French Military artist J.B. Édouard Detaille (1848-1912). Detaille served in the Franco-Russian war, and studied under J. L. E.Meissonier. From this military background, he became famous for his paintings of battle scenes, portraits of soldiers, and his overall depiction of military life. His style was notable for its precision and realistic detail. One of his best-known works is Edward VII and the Duke of Connaught. Careful research has shown that it is typical of the style of Édouard Detaille, and this has been confirmed by owner's of his work and dealers who are experienced with his works. Taking all this into account, we are offering this fine watercolor at a very realistic figure for an artist whose oils regularly sell at auction from $35,000.00 and more. ARTIST BIOGRAPHY: Jean-Baptiste-Édouard Detaille (1848-1912) Born in Paris on 5th October, 1847, the young Detaille was surrounded by military figures from his grandfather who had worked as a sutler responsible for organising Napoleon's transports, to a great aunt who had married Admiral Villeneuve. Nonetheless, his only ambition was to be an artist and he let it be known that he wished to study with Cabanel, but through various circumstances, ended up in the great Meissonier's studio. It was in 1867 that the young artist first exhibited a picture, showing a view of Meissonier's studio, but in the following year, he showed his first military piece. While it was based solely on imagination, The Drummer's Halt represented a scene from the French Revolution. This was to be the beginning of a glorious career painting many military scenes from French history. The Franco-Prussian War had a profound effect on the artist, particularly as it forced him to see war in person. On the outbreak of war, he enlisted in the 8th Mobile Bataillon, and by November 1870, was attached to General Ducrot's staff seeing action in the fighting around Paris. On the Marne, he saw regiments under fire, groups of skirmishes dispatched to the front and senseless retreats. These experiences of war enabled him to produce many striking portrayals of the actions. Indeed, in 1872, he was forced to withdraw two paintings of the war from an exhibition so as not to offend Germany. Over the next few years, Detaille exhibited some of his finest paintings of the conflict such as Salut aux Blesses of 1877, La Defense de Champigny of 1879, and Le Soir de Rezonville. With de Neuville, he produced two large panoramas of the battles at Champigny and Rezonville. Now a celebrity, he travelled extensively through Europe between 1879 and 1884, taking time only to visit Tunisia with a French expeditionary force where he was witness to some fighting. In Britain, he painted a review of British troops by the Prince of Wales, and a scene showing Scots Guards in Hyde Park. It was at this time that Detaille was developing a deep interest in the French army and he produced all the drawings and plates for Jules Richard's Types et Uniformes de l'Armee Francaise, 390 images in all. With all his work, Detaille painted a slow and methodical way so as to produce his subjects naturally and realistically, but most important of all, truthfully. By the 1890's Detaille was turning more and more to the campaign of Napoleon, and he produced many striking battle scenes including dashing cavalry charges. He used many original items of uniform and weapons to give authenticity to his pictures, and many of these artifacts were used in the creation of the Musee de l'Armee in Paris, which Detaille helped to found. He died in Paris on 23rd December, 1912. Thanks to Peter Harrington

Attributed to:
Jean Baptiste Édouard Detaille (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 27 in (68.58 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Paper,Pencil,Watercolor
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
Ca 1878
Condition:
The incised wood Period frame is original and dates to the 1860-1880 s, the same as the scene. It is made from wood that was varnished. The condition of the watercolor is excellent, but it has numerous spots of mildew (foxing) which are not a distraction. Copyright 2012- 2010 by Land And Sea Collection™, All Rights Reserved.
Seller Location:
Palm City, FL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: U120625925792

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