Vive L'Empereur (painting)

Vive L'Empereur! is a history painting made retrospectively by French artist Édouard Detaille in 1891, based upon the cavalry charge of the French 4th Hussars during the Battle of Friedland.[1] The actual battle had taken place on 14 June 1807, some 41 years before the artist's birth.[2]

Vive L'Empereur!
French: Vive L'Empereur – charge du quatrième hussards à la bataille de Friedland, 14 juin 1807,
English: Long live the Emperor – Charge of the 4th Hussars at the battle of Friedland, 14 June 1807
ArtistÉdouard Detaille
Year1891 (1891)
MediumOil on canvas
SubjectCavalry charge of the French 4th Hussars
Dimensions445 cm × 512.5 cm (175.2 in × 201.77 in)[1]
ConditionRestored
LocationArt Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Accession4560
Websiteartgallery.nsw.gov.au/4560

History

edit

The painting was purchased by the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1893, where it remains.[2] In 1959, the painting was damaged severely by water, but it was restored during the 2000s.[3]

Museum

edit

In June 2014, the Art Gallery of New South Wales purchased Portrait of Édouard Detaille by Basile Lemeunier (1852–1922), which shows Detaille at work in his studio – painting Vive L'Empereur! – atop a wooden ladder with a lit cigarette in his mouth.[3] The portrait was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1891.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Vive L'Empereur - Edouard Detaille - Google Arts & Culture". Google Cultural Institute. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Vive L'Empereur! (1891) by Edouard Detaille". Art Gallery of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  3. ^ a b Meares, Joel (28 October 2014). "Art gallery's famous Vive l'Empereur meets its maker, a century on". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
edit