Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville (; 31 May 183518 May 1885) was a French academic

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

who studied under

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...

. His dramatic and intensely patriotic subjects illustrated episodes from the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, the

Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Isandlwana and the British defence at ...

, and portraits of soldiers. Some of his works have been collected by the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

and by the

Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Early life

Alphonse de Neuville en garde national 1870

Born Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe Deneuville to wealthy parents at

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; ; Picard: ''Saint-Onmé'') is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Sa ...

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

, he earned his degree of ''bachelier ès-lettres'', and in 1856 entered the naval school at

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

in spite of family opposition. It was there that his artistic instincts started. The young Alphonse de Neuville was discouraged by several painters of repute, but he was admitted to work in the studio of François-Edouard Picot. He did not remain there long. He was already painting by himself when he produced his first picture, ''The Fifth Battalion of Chasseurs at the Gervais Battery'' (Malakoff). In 1860, Neuville painted an ''Episode of the taking of Naples by

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

'' for the Artists' Club in the

rue de Provence The Rue de Provence is a street in the 8th and 9th arrondissements of Paris. It begins at the Rue du Faubourg Montmartre and ends at the Rue de Rome. Only the short part of the street between the Rue du Havre and the Rue de Rome is in the 8th ar ...

. In 1861, he sent ''The Guard Chasseurs in the Trenches of the Mamelon Vert'' to the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

. This cites Montrosier, ''Les Peintres militaires'' (Paris, 1881), "De Neuville," in ''Gazette des Beaux-Arts'' (Paris, 1885).

Illustrator and military artist

Neuville participated in illustrating

Pierre-Jules Hetzel Pierre-Jules Hetzel (; 15 January 1814 – 17 March 1886) was a French editor and publisher celebrated for his extraordinarily lavishly illustrated editions of Jules Verne's novels, highly prized by collectors. Biography Born in Chartres, Eure ...

's editions of ''

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may inclu ...

''. He also illustrated ''Le Tour du monde'' and

François Guizot François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (; 4 October 1787 – 12 September 1874) was a French historian, orator and Politician, statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics between the July Revolution, Revolution of 1830 and the Revoluti ...

's ''History of France''. At the same time he painted a number of remarkable pictures: ''The Attack in the Streets of Magenta by Zouaves and the Light Horse'' (1864), ''A Zouave Sentinel'' (1865), ''The Battle of San Lorenzo'' (1867), and ''Dismounted Cavalry crossing the Tchernaia'' (1869). In these he showed peculiar insight into military life. He reached the peak of his career after the

of 1870-1871. The long-term French reaction was

revanchism Revanchism (, from ''revanche'', "revenge") is the political manifestation of the will to reverse the territorial losses which are incurred by a country, frequently after a war or after a social movement. As a term, ''revanchism'' originated i ...

: a deep sense of bitterness, hatred, and demand for revenge against Germany, especially because of the loss of Alsace and Lorraine. Paintings that emphasized the humiliation of the defeat were in high demand, such as ''The Spy'' by de Neuville.Jay, Robert. "Alphonse de Neuville's 'The Spy' and the Legacy of the Franco-Prussian War," ''Metropolitan Museum Journal'' (1984) 19: pp. 151-16
in JSTOR
/ref> In response, Neuville aimed at depicting episodes of the Franco-Prussian War in his works, and began by representing the ''Bivouac before Le Bourget'' (1872). His fame spread rapidly and was increased by '' The Last Cartridges'' (1873), memorializing an episode involving the

Blue Division The 250th Infantry Division (), better known as the Blue Division (, ), was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain operating from 1941 to 1943 within the German Army () on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated t ...

of the French marines, in which it is easy to discern the vast difference between the conventional treatment of military subjects, as practised by

Horace Vernet Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (; 30 June 178917 January 1863) more commonly known as simply Horace Vernet, was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects. Biography Early career Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famo ...

, and that of a man who had lived the life that he painted. ''Fight on a Railroad'' (1874) was equally successful, and was followed by the ''Attack on a House at Villersexel'' (1875) and the ''Railway Bridge at Styring'' (1877). In 1878 (but not at the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

), the painter exhibited ''

Le Bourget Le Bourget () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The commune features Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hosts the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Air and Space Museum). A very ...

'', the ''Surprise at Daybreak'', ''The Intercepted Despatch-bearer'', and a considerable number of drawings. He also exhibited in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

some episodes of the

. Fifty thousand people paid to see his impression of ''The Defence of Rorke's Drift'' (1880), which the infant Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney paid a large sum to acquire. In 1881, he was made an officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

for ''The Cemetery of Saint-Privat'', ''The Despatch-bearer'', and ''Huns in the Battle of Chalon''. During these years Neuville was at work with

Édouard Detaille Jean-Baptiste Édouard Detaille (; 5 October 1848 – 23 December 1912) was a French academic painter and military artist noted for his precision and realistic detail. He was regarded as the "semi-official artist of the French army". Biogra ...

on an important although less artistic work, ''The Panorama of Rézonville''. Neuville died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on May 18, 1885. At the sale of his works the state purchased the paintings ''Bourget'' and ''Attack on a Barricaded House'', as well as watercolor ''The Parley'' and the drawing ''Turco in Fighting Trim'', for the purpose of displaying them at the

Palais du Luxembourg The Luxembourg Palace (, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the regent Marie de' Med ...

Gallery

Image:Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville - Les dernières cartouches (1873).jpg, '' Les dernières cartouches '' (1873) File:Alphonse de Neuville - The defence of Rorke's Drift 1879 - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Defence of

Rorke's Drift The Battle of Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an engagement in the Anglo-Zulu War. The successful British defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the Royal E ...

'', oil on canvas painting by Alphonse de Neuville, 1880,

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

. This incident occurred on 22 January 1879, in the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...

. File:Neuville défense de la porte de Longboyau img 1960-rama.jpg, ''Défense de la porte de Longboyau, 21 octobre 1870'' (1879) File:Bivouac après le combat du Bourget, 21 décembre 1870.jpg, ''Bivouac après le combat du Bourget, 21 décembre 1870'' (1873) File:Champigny, le four à chaux (détail).jpg, ''Bataille de Champigny'' (1870) File:Château de Chantilly, Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville, battle at the railway embankment.JPG, ''Battle at the Railway Embankment'' (1874) File:Alphonse de Neuville - In the Trenches - Walters 37118.jpg, ''In the Trenches'' (1874) File:2012-10-12 16-22-28-musee-histoire-belfort-clairon.jpg, ''A Bugler of the Infantry'' (1876) File:Alphonse Marie Deneuville - The Attack at Dawn.JPG, ''The Attack at Dawn'' (1877) File:Last Sleep of the Brave.jpg, ''Last Sleep of the Brave'', (1879) File:The Spy MET DT228197.jpg, ''The Spy'', (1880) File:AlphonseNeuvilleFriedhofSaint-PrivatL1100806 (2).jpg, ''The Cemetery of Saint-Privat'' (1881) File:2012-10-12 16-18-11-musee-histoire-belfort-combat.jpg, ''En avant ! ou Le combat de Chenebier'' (1884) File:A Cavalryman MET ep15.30.20.R.jpg, '' A Cavalryman'' (1884)

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neuville, Alphonse de People from Saint-Omer 1835 births 1885 deaths Burials at Montmartre Cemetery 19th-century French painters French male painters French war artists French history painters Jules Verne Academic art 19th-century French war artists 19th-century French novelists

Early life

Illustrator and military artist

Gallery

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links