Alphonse de Neuville
French, 1835–1885
Champigny, 2 December 1870
c. 1875–77
De Neuville, who fought in the French army during the war with Prussia in 1870, was present at Champigny during an incident that resulted in a humiliating retreat for French forces. His painting presents eight French soldiers—desperate, wounded, and lacking provisions—making a final stand in a small, badly damaged garret. The scene conveys a sense of patriotism, the soldiers retaining their dignity even in the face of defeat.
| Medium | oil on panel |
| Dimensions | 9 3/8 x 12 9/16 in. (23.8 x 31.9 cm) Frame: 15 5/8 x 18 9/16 x 2 in. (39.7 x 47.1 x 5.1 cm) |
| Object Number | 1955.706 |
| Acquisition | Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955 |
| Status | On View |
Image Caption
Alphonse de Neuville, Champigny, 2 December 1870, c. 1875–77, oil on panel. Clark Art Institute, 1955.706
Select Bibliography
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970.
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1972.
Philippe Guilloux.. "De Neuville, ou le désespoir dans l'art.". 53.. Uniformes.. (Jan.-Feb. 1980).:pp. 12-19..
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984.
Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992.
Robert Gildea.. The Past in French History.. New Haven: Yale University Press.. 1994..
Lees, Sarah, ed. Nineteenth-Century European Paintings at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute; New Haven and London: distributed by Yale University Press, 2012.
EUROPEAN PAINTINGS CATALOGUE ENTRY
Provenance
[Neuville & Vivien, Paris, sold to Clark, 4 Mar. 1936, as Le Grenier de Champigny: Episode de la Guerre Franco-Allemande de 1870]; Robert Sterling Clark (1936–55); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1955.
