An Uhlan (late 1800s)

Jean-Baptiste Édouard Detaille prints bring the soldiers, horses and uniforms of nineteenth-century France to life in vivid, precise detail. Detaille was regarded as the "semi-official artist of the French army", a pupil of Meissonier who fought in the Franco-Prussian War and spent his life painting French military history. Our collection of fine art prints includes his battle scenes, cavalry charges, portraits of soldiers and panorama fragments.

About Jean-Baptiste Édouard Detaille

Jean-Baptiste Édouard Detaille was born in Paris on 5 October 1848 and grew up in Picardy, in a prosperous military family; his grandfather had supplied arms to Napoleon. His father, an amateur artist and friend of Horace Vernet, encouraged him. At seventeen he asked the military painter Ernest Meissonier for an introduction to Alexandre Cabanel, but Meissonier chose to teach him himself and passed on his love of accuracy.

He made his Salon debut in 1867 with a painting of Meissonier's studio, and in 1869 established his reputation with Repose During the Drill, Camp St Maur. In 1870 he travelled to Algeria with the painters Berne-Bellecour, Leloir and Vibert. When the Franco-Prussian War broke out he enlisted, and his experience of the fighting shaped his realistic pictures of soldiers, uniforms and military life.

He became the official painter of France's battles and in 1885 published L'Armée française, with more than 300 drawings. In 1912 he even designed new uniforms for the army, which influenced French uniforms of the First World War. He left his large collection of uniforms and military objects to the Musée de l'Armée, and died in Paris in December 1912.

Style and Subjects

Detaille's paintings are known for precision and realistic detail: every button, strap and buckle is correct. His soldiers are individuals, shown on the march, at rest, wounded or charging, and his horses move with life and weight.

His colour is clear and natural, with the blues and reds of French uniforms against grey skies and muddy fields. His great panoramas and history paintings combine this accuracy with a strong sense of drama and patriotism.

Famous Works

• A Mounted Officer (1877), Art Institute of Chicago. A cavalry officer on horseback, painted with careful detail.
• The Defense of Champigny (1879), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. French troops defending a village in the Franco-Prussian War.
• Panorama of the Battle of Champigny (fragments) (1881). Pieces of the vast panorama he painted with Alphonse de Neuville.
• A Cavalry Officer (1887), National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. A single officer in full uniform.
• The Dream (Le Rêve) (1888), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Sleeping soldiers dream of the glorious armies of the past.
• Vive l'Empereur (1891), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. Napoleon's cavalry charging with a cry for the emperor.
• Gendarmes d'Ordonnance (1894), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Mounted gendarmes in parade dress.

Decorating with Detaille Prints

Detaille's military scenes suit studies, libraries, dens and hallways, especially in traditional interiors with dark wood, leather and rich colours. A cavalry charge such as Vive l'Empereur makes a bold focal point above a desk or fireplace.

His single figures and uniform studies, such as Cuirassier, work well in groups along a corridor or staircase and appeal to anyone interested in history.

FAQ

Who was Édouard Detaille?

Jean-Baptiste Édouard Detaille was a French academic painter and military artist who lived from 1848 to 1912. He was called the "semi-official artist of the French army".

What is Detaille's most famous painting?

Le Rêve (The Dream), painted in 1888 and now in the Musée d'Orsay, is his best-known work. Marcel Proust mentions it in his novel Cities of the Plain.

Who taught Édouard Detaille?

He was taught by the military painter Ernest Meissonier, who passed on his insistence on accuracy and precision.

Did Detaille fight in a war?

Yes. He enlisted in the French army during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and that experience shaped his realistic military paintings.

Where can I see Detaille's paintings?

Works are in the Musée d'Orsay and Musée de l'Armée in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hermitage and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Related Artists

• Ernest Meissonier: his teacher, the great French military painter
• Jehan Georges Vibert: painter who travelled with him to Algeria in 1870
• Étienne-Prosper Berne-Bellecour: fellow military painter who travelled with him to Algeria
• Horace Vernet: military painter and friend of his father