Jean-Baptiste-Édouard Detaille

H. Shickman Gallery, New York;
Acquired from the above in 1971.

New York, The New York Cultural Center, War á la Mode, March 6-April 13, 1975;
Amherst, Massachusetts, The Mead Art Gallery, War á la Mode, May 2-May 28, 1975, no. 8;
Baltimore, The Walters Art Gallery, War á La Mode at the Walters, June 3-August 31, 1977, no. 12;
Tampa, The Tampa Museum, Call to Arms!: Édouard Detaille and his Contemporaries, January 18-March 29, 1981, no. 14;
Fairfield, Connecticut, The Art Gallery, Center for Financial Studies at Fairfield University, Valor and Vainglory: Military Paintings of the Franco-Prussian War From The Forbes Collection, March 1-April 29, 1987, no. 13;
Memphis, The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, French Military Paintings From The Forbes Collection, November 11-December 31, 1990;
Berlin, Deutsches Historisches, Anton Von Werner: History in Pictures, May 6-August 31, 1993;
Roslyn Harbor, Nassau County Museum of Art, Napoleon III and Eugenie,  June 6-September 6, 2009.

Jean Humbert, Édouard Detaille: l'héroïsme d'un siècle, Paris, 1979, p. 40-41, illustrated;
Nigel Smith, They Died For Glory: The Franco Prussian War, 1992, p. 3;
Joan Carpenter, "Frederic Remington's Art," Gilcrease: Magazine of American History and Art, p. 10;
François Robichon, Édouard Detaille: Un Siècle de Gloire Militaire, Paris, 2007, p. 34-35, illustrated;
Christopher Forbes, Napoleon and Eugenie: Opulence & Splendor of France's Second Empire, New York, 2009, p. 25.

The canvas is not lined. The surface of the work is in overall good condition. There are some stretcherbar marks. There are 2 small repairs in the upper left. There is craquelure in some areas.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A chromolithograph with embossing and gum arabic of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's version of Champigny; Décembre 1870 accompanies this lot; together with a color photograph of The Forbes Collection version.

In his book, Édouard Detaille, un siècle de gloire militaire, François Robichon says about Champigny; Décembre 1870: The Moment depicted is historically correct. Lieutenant Colonel Pottier, commander of the 113th Line, takes steps to protect Champigny. The engineers under Lieutenant Montès fortify the gates of the village." (p. 34, translated from the French)

Sotheby's is pleased to offer the following thirteen paintings from The Forbes Collection which includes Édouard Detaille's famous Champigny, décembre 1870,  the first version of which is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; two preparatory works each by Detaille and Alphonse de Neuville for the Panorama de Champigny; and eight fragments cut from the impressive panorama itself.

The Panorama de Champigny, painted in collaboration by Detaille and de Neuville, was completed in 1882, twelve years after The Franco-Prussian war, one of the more transformative events in the history of nineteenth century Europe. Beginning on July 19, 1870, the war concluded its first phase in only seven weeks with the capture and surrender of both Emperor Napoleon III and his Imperial Army on September 2^nd. France's newly formed government's attempts to negotiate peace were stalled by German demands to cede a portion of French territory in Alsace and Lorraine. Unable to form a treaty, and despite the well-known strength and number of German forces, the new French Republic chose to fight.

Without a treaty and with most of the French army captured or still under siege in Metz, the Germans were left with Paris as the remaining area of resistance.  By September 19^th greater Paris was surrounded, cut-off from food and supplies.  On the 27^th of October the city of Metz surrendered.  Several days later an attempt to expand French control north of Paris began in the town of Le Bourget.  This also ended in defeat.  The losses of Metz and Le Bourget, together with the worsening effects of the siege on daily life in the beleaguered city, caused Parisian morale to sink.

By the end of November, a new military operation was planned to break through the German lines south of the city.  Morale improved as 55,000 troops left Paris. On the morning of November 30^th, an attack on three German-held villages was led by General Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot.  Crossing the flooded river Marne, the French reoccupied both Bry and Champigny but could not break through the better fortified positions at Villiers.  After a bitter cold night from an early winter, a one day cease-fire was issued to bury the dead and regroup.  On December 2^nd the Germans began their counter-attack against Champigny which the French troops vigorously defended. The result was a debilitating stalemate that brought great loss of life on both sides.  After two days of valiant combat, over 9,000 French and 3,000 Germans were dead. Ultimately, the French troops withdrew to Paris and by January 19, 1871, starved of food and after relentless shelling, Paris and with it France surrendered.

The effects of the Franco Prussian war and its military engagements, like that at Champigny, had a profound effect on the French national psyche.  In the years following the end of German occupation in 1873, artists' turned toward the war as evocative subjects for painting, focusing in particular on heroic battles in which the French faced overwhelming odds.

Detaille exhibited the primary version of lot 491 in the Salon of 1879. This early effort was expanded in incredible scale for the first exhibition at 5, rue de Berri's new Panorama National, a building expressly designed to house these enormous paintings in the round.  In its totality, the artists' panorama incorporated various scenes of battle, from mundane moments of soldiers at rest to important military heroes engaging on the field. 

To construct this monumental design and to capture its evocative details, Detaille and de Neuville had become students of the battle.  Both artists had military experience, and they enhanced their memories with discussions with fellow fighters, other eye witnesses and historians. The artists decided that 11:00 am on December 2, 1870 would be the exact moment to capture.  Detaille was to paint the action from Champigny to Villiers and de Neuville that from Bry to Paris. Sketches (see lots 500-503) were made on the sites where fighting first took place and were later finished in the studio. The final preparatory works were squared, photographed and then projected by use of a magic lantern onto the final squared canvas, itself ten times larger than the studies. The projection was traced with charcoal and then completed in oils with the landscape and sky rendered by five assistants and the figures done by Detaille and de Neuville. Weighing over three tons, the massive, finished work was nearly fifty feet high and 400 feet long. Visitors to the Panorama National viewed the work from a raised platform in the center of the building that was meant as Signal Hill where the morning's battle commenced.  Indeed, the artists designed the expansive format of their composition to surround and to visually and psychological involve the viewer.  A diorama by de Neuville of the inside of a house in Champigny on the night before the fighting was placed between the viewers and the panorama as an additional special effect. A pamphlet available for purchase provided a detailed description of the events as they unfolded around the viewing public (see additional material offered with lot 500).

The Panorama de Champigny was a tremendous success and was soon followed by Detaille and de Neuville's Panorama de Rezonville featuring another military campaign in the Franco-Prussian war (Detaille received the Grand Prix for his Panorama de Rezonville at the Exposition Universelle in 1889). The public entertainment provided by panoramas proved hugely popular for the remainder of the 1880s, but the fad began to fade during the following decade, as visitor numbers decreased and the expense and logistics of such huge displays became less financially viable. As such, the Panorama de Champigny was cut up into pieces for auction in 1892 and 1896. These fragments were widely dispersed in private collections until entering The Forbes Collection.  The present exhibition and sale of the fragments is a rare opportunity to experience the powerful effect of the Panorama de Champigny, a testament to the artists' popular and historical achievements.  

We would like to thank François Robichon, Président de l'Association des Amis d'Édouard Detaille and The Forbes Collection for their kind assistance with this note and in cataloguing lots 491-503.