French Artillery
Artist
Jean Baptiste Edouard Detaille
(French, 1848-1912, active in Paris)
Date1873
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions49 x 63 in. (124.5 x 160 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN446
Detaille was the semi-official artist of the French army, specializing in accurate and detailed renderings of battle scenes. His work was based on first-hand experience, as he had enlisted in the army following the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Wealthy American collectors favored his paintings: this one was owned by Caroline Astor (1830-1908), who displayed it in the enormous ballroom art gallery of her New York City mansion. John Ringling purchased it, along with other paintings, interiors, and bronze doors, when the contents of the Astor residence were sold at auction in 1926.
On View
On viewLocation
- Museum of Art, Gallery 21, Wall North
