The Defense of Champigny

Edouard Detaille

1879 · Oil on canvas · European Paintings

In this battle picture, shown in the Salon of 1879, Détaille depicts an incident that he had observed on December 2, 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War. General Faron's soldiers are shown fortifying their new position at the town of Champigny-sur-Marne, near Paris, and breaking openings in the wall for cannons. General Faron is at the left, talking to an old gardener. The artist painted a replica of the picture in 1879 (private collection) and returned to the subject for a huge panorama of the battle (now destroyed) that he executed with de Neuville in 1882.

Artist

Edouard Detaille

Date

1879

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Gift of Henry Hilton, 1887