''The Battle of the Kearsarge and the Alabama'' is an 1864 oil painting by

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bo ...

. The painting commemorates the Battle of Cherbourg of 1864, a naval engagement of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

between the Union cruiser and the Confederate raider . Many spectators were able to see the battle from the coast of France and saw the USS ''Kearsarge'' sink the CSS ''Alabama''. Not having witnessed the battle himself, Manet relied on press descriptions of the battle to document his work. Within one month of this battle, Manet had already completed this painting and got it on display in the print shop of Alfred Cadart in Paris. In 1872,

Barbey d'Aurevilly Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly (2 November 1808 – 23 April 1889) was a French novelist and short story writer. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitly concerned with anythin ...

stated that the painting was a "magnificent marine painting" and that "the sea ... is more frightening than the battle". It was hung at Alfred Cadart's and was praised by the critic Philippe Burty. The painting was acquired by the French art collector

Marguerite Charpentier Marguerite Charpentier (1 March 1848 – 30 November 1904) was a French salonist and art collector who was one of the earliest champions of the Impressionists, especially Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Biography She was born Marguerite Louise Lemonnier ...

in 1878 and is now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Advance notice

The battle between the Kearsarge and the Alabama received a lot of attention in the French press. Although Manet himself was not present at the battle, he began to paint the event based on newspaper descriptions shortly afterwards. Just 26 days later, he was able to exhibit the work in Alfred Cadart's art gallery on Rue de Richelieu in Paris. At the top of the painting is the Alabama, which is about to sink; beyond, barely visible, the Kearsarge. In the thick clouds of smoke, the loosely painted masts and ropes are only partially visible. On the right is probably the Deerhound. In the foreground, a French ship rushes to the aid of sailors who have clung to a piece of wreckage. Although they are not among his best-known works, Manet painted a large number of sea and harbor views. Until a few years before his death, they were the only landscapes he made. The journey he undertook as a 16-year-old boy to Brazil and the many holidays on the coast of the Channel probably play a role in this. Striking in all these seascapes is the high horizon, perhaps inspired by Japanese prints. The foaming sea, painted turquoise, blue, and grey, takes up three quarters of the painting.

References

External links

* Jennifer A. Thompson
"The Battle of the USS 'Kearsarge' and the CSS 'Alabama,'"
i
The John G. Johnson Collection: A History and Selected Works
a Philadelphia Museum of Art free digital scholarly catalogue. *

Juliet Wilson-Bareau Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy '' Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist ...

with David C. Degener
''Manet and the American Civil War: The Battle of the U.S.S. Kearsarge and the C.S.S. Alabama''
Issued in connection with an exhibition held June 3 - August 17, 2003,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, New York. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of the Kearsarge and the Alabama, The Paintings by Édouard Manet American Civil War in art 1864 paintings Battle of the Kearsarge and the Alabama CSS Alabama Naval war paintings

Advance notice

See also

References

External links