Henri-Félix-Emmanuel PHILIPPOTEAUX (1815-1884) Study... Lot 19

Henri-Félix-Emmanuel PHILIPPOTEAUX (1815-1884) Study for "Louis XV visiting the battlefield of Fontenoy, May 11, 1745". Oil on canvas, signed lower left "Philippoteaux". Circa 1840. In a large giltwood frame. H. 12,5 x W. 12 cm. Frame : H. 23,7 x W. 23 cm. History To illustrate this great page of French history that is the battle of Fontenoy, Philippoteaux chose not to show the King in the middle of the battle, following the tradition of the great military scenes, but the moment after, the moment when the sad balance of losses is made: "It is night. In the middle of the still smoldering rubble, the king shows the young dauphin the heaped up bodies: the weapons have spoken." Our study is here framed on the main actors of the scene, with Louis XV and the Dauphin stopping in front of cannonballs at the foot of an artillery piece, followed by the Marshal of Saxony; the three characters are surrounded in the shadows by some officers of the staff or of the French Guards, while in the background, as a reminder that this battle was nevertheless a victory, we see the standards taken from the enemy. The subject had already been exploited by Horace Vernet in 1828, showing in a jubilant setting the Marshal of Saxony presenting the king, in majesty on his horse, with the trophies of the battle; this painting was later placed in 1837 by Louis-Philippe in the gallery of Battles of the new Historical Museum. On the contrary, Philippoteaux here deliberately breaks the heroic codes of classical battle painting to show, beyond the horrors of war, a sovereign who wants to be close to his fellow citizens, aware of the gravity of events and crises. The artist presented his work at the 1840 Salon under the number 1307, alongside another historical painting, "Bayard defending the Garigliano Bridge", which had been commissioned by the Duke of Orleans in 1839. The "Battle of Fontenoy" was acquired by King Louis-Philippe at the end of the Salon, at a price of 4,000 francs, and placed in the Musée du Luxembourg. A student of Cogniet, Félix Philippoteaux had made a name for himself and was appreciated for his historical paintings, particularly military history. He made his debut at the Salon of 1833 and was favored by the July Monarchy, who commissioned him regularly from 1835 onwards to paint for the royal family and for the military decorations that were to adorn the recently opened Museum of Versailles. In 1840, he was sent to Algeria to follow the campaign of the Duc d'Aumale in the Oranais, from which he drew a very important set of drawings and sketches now kept at the Musée Condé in Chantilly, and two works for Versailles, "The Defense of Mazagran" and the capture of "Médéah". It should be noted that the artist illustrated the battle of Fontenoy again in 1873, but this time presenting the first moments, when the Count of Enteroches invited Lord Charles Hay: "Gentlemen of the English, shoot first". Related works - Philippoteaux, Louis XV on the battlefield of Fontenoy, 1840. Musée du Service de Santé de l'Armée, Val de Grâce (deposit of the Château de Versailles, MV 5551). - Philippoteaux, The Battle of Fontenoy, Lord Charles Hay and the Count of Enteroches, 1873. Former F.R. Bryan collection, acquired in 1880 by the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.