HORACE VERNET (PARIS, 1789 - 1863)

Lot 66
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Estimation :
6000 - 8000 EUR
HORACE VERNET (PARIS, 1789 - 1863)
Preparatory study for The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa Oil on canvas 38 x 46 cm The rediscovery of the Middle Ages, begun before 1789, was intensified in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Louis-Philippe, King of the Restoration, creates at the Palace of Versailles a museum of the history of France, dedicated "to all the glories of France" and inaugurated in 1837, with the aim of reconciling the French after the excesses of certain revolutionaries or royalists. Thus, five large rooms in the north wing of the castle are reserved for the history of the Crusades, and commissions were given to the greatest historical painters of the time. The paintings, which bear witness to the 19th century's fascination with the Orient and the chivalric ideal, evoke the main episodes of the eight crusades (from the 11th to the 13th century). By paying homage to the crusaders, they also serve the ideological and political purpose of Louis-Philippe, who sought to reconcile the nobility and the clergy who were hostile to him. Here, Vernet chooses to depict an important battle of the Spanish Reconquista, resulting in the victory of the armies of the Christian kingdoms over the Islamic empire. This elaborate study prepares the final composition in a precise manner. The exposure of the two figures near Alfonso VIII of Castile, who is assaulted from all sides, highlights the brutality of the scene, and the exaggeratedly "savage" representation of the Eastern man in the Western imagination. At the same time, they bring this painting closer to the great classical historical tableaux, such as the Abduction of the Sabines by J-L David, and accentuate the epic character of the scene.
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