''Le Rêve'' (, ) is a painting by

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 ...

created in

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

. It won the gold medal at the Salon in 1888.

Description

''Le Rêve'' is a painting depicting the military - the specialty of its creator, Édouard Detaille. It shows an encampment of sleeping French soldiers that continues as far as the eye can see. The soldiers are young conscripts of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

who are taking part in summer exercises, probably in Champagne. They are dreaming of the glory of their predecessors, and of exacting revenge following their country's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. In a patriotic allegory, French soldiers from previous battles are depicted in the sky above in an intentionally indistinct way. They include soldiers from the French Revolutionary Army, as well as those involved in the battles of

Austerlitz Austerlitz may refer to: History * Battle of Austerlitz, an 1805 victory by the French Grand Army of Napoleon Bonaparte Places * Austerlitz, German name for Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic, which gave its name to the Battle of Austerlitz an ...

, Trocadero, Magenta and

Solferino Solferino ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a small town and municipality in the province of Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, approximately south of Lake Garda. It is best known as being close to the site of the Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, part ...

, the invasion of Algiers and the defeats at

Gravelotte Gravelotte (; german: Gravelotte) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, 11 km west of Metz. It is part of the functional area (''aire d'attraction'') of Metz. Its population is 827 (2019). From 1871 u ...

and

Reichshoffen Reichshoffen ( or ; ; Alsatian: ''Risshoffe'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Église Saint-Michel de Reichshoffen was built in 1772. Population Politics and administration List of mayors ...

in 1870. This type of painting corresponds well with the sentiment of the time, evoking nostalgia for a unified, victorious France, and acting as a memento of a mythical France that was edging further into the past. For Detaille, creating this painting was to "take a direct political position", showing his support for nationalist general Georges Boulanger, as well as celebrating the army.

Description

References

Further reading