The Battle of the Boyne | |
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Artist | Benjamin West |
Year | 1778, prints after 1781 |
Type | Oil on canvas, historical painting |
Location | Mount Stewart, Newtownards, Northern Ireland |
The Battle of the Boyne is a 1778 historical painting by the Anglo-American artist Benjamin West. It portrays the Battle of the Boyne which took place in Ireland in 1690. West's depiction of William of Orange on his white horse became the iconic image of liberation from Catholic Ireland; the painting was widely copied and distributed throughout the nineteenth century. The painting itself is at Mount Stewart, Newtownards, Northern Ireland, and is the property of the National Trust. [1]
West became a celebrated figure for his 1770 work The Death of General Wolfe , which portrayed James Wolfe's death during the fight for Quebec in 1759. His historical paintings brought him to national attention and he became a leading member of the Royal Academy. West was influenced by neoclassicism and attempted to portray scenes that drew an emotional response, rather than being historically accurate. As a "history painter," he was more concerned with the epic rendition of the narrative rather than with its possible accuracy. [2]
West's 1778 work portrays the fighting at the Boyne, part of the Williamite War in Ireland (1689–91). The battle was a decisive victory for the Williamites over James II's Jacobite Irish Army, leading to the capture of the Irish capital city Dublin. By the time West made the painting, the Boyne had come to occupy an important position in Irish Protestant culture. The dominant image of the painting is William of Orange crossing the River Boyne. West's portrayal of the King became influential on subsequent images of William, particularly his use of a white horse. [3]
In the bottom right corner, he portrays the death of Marshal Schomberg, the second-in-command of William's army. Schomberg had crossed the Boyne earlier than William and had been killed by Jacobite cavalry in the melee around Oldbridge ford. West transformed Schomberg's chaotic death into a tableau, one that has strong similarities to other heroic death scenes in West's paintings, such as General Wolfe or Horatio Nelson in The Death of Nelson (1806). [4]
Since the 1690s, commemorations—state-sponsored and those held by the lower classes—had been held throughout Ireland celebrating key dates in the Williamite War such as the Battle of the Boyne, Siege of Derry and the Siege of Cork. [5] These followed a tradition started in Elizabethan England of celebrating key events in the Protestant calendar. By the 1740s such organizations as the Boyne Club and the Protestant Society, both seen as forerunners to the Orange Order, held parades in Dublin. [5] As a "history painting, then, West's Battle of the Boyne represented an important moment in time, making it a crucial depiction of an event that was at least anecdotally important, monoscenic depictions of crucial moments in an implied narrative in the ongoing Orangist narrative. [6]
In 2011, another original painting of the battle was discovered in a basement of Brownlow House, Lurgan, and testing indicated the painting dates from about the same time as West's 1778 work. Experts conducting the testing and restoration believe the painting was made by a Dutch artist who did not sign his or her work and the piece contains more details than the West painting, suggesting it may even be an earlier production. The painting was damaged by bullet holes and knife slashes, and approximately 45 percent of the painting had been destroyed. [7]
Since West's painting, several reproductions have been made, mostly line etchings and engravings; these are widely exhibited. The most prominent of these was made in 1781 by John Hall (Wivenhoe 1739 – London 1797), which can be found at the Wordsworth House, Cumbria. Versions of West's painting were often reproduced on walls throughout Belfast, although these reproductions are becoming increasingly rare as the walls give way to urban development. [8]
The Battle of the Boyne took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II, had acceded to the Crowns of England and Scotland in 1689. The battle was fought across the River Boyne close to the town of Drogheda in the Kingdom of Ireland, modern-day Republic of Ireland, and resulted in a victory for William. This turned the tide in James's failed attempt to regain the British crown and ultimately aided in ensuring the continued Protestant ascendancy in Ireland.
"The Boyne Water" is an Ulster Protestant folksong by an anonymous lyricist. The lyrics of the song commemorate King William III of Orange's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, part of the Williamite War in Ireland.
Frederick Herman de Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg KG PC was a German-born military officer and nobleman who served as Master-General of the Ordnance from 1689 to 1690. Having fought in the French, Portuguese and English armies, he was killed in action fighting on the Williamite side at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
The Treaty of Limerick, signed on 3 October 1691, ended the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland, a conflict related to the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War. It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commanders of a French expeditionary force and Irish Jacobites loyal to the exiled James II. Baron de Ginkell, leader of government forces in Ireland, signed on behalf of William III and his wife Mary II. It allowed Jacobite units to be transported to France, the diaspora known as the Flight of the Wild Geese.
Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, 1st Duke of Leinster, KG, was a general in the service of Willem, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of Holland, later King William III of England. He fought in the Franco-Dutch War, then played a crucial role at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690 during the Williamite War in Ireland and finally commanded the British troops deployed to Portugal during the War of the Spanish Succession.
The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between supporters of James II and his successor, William III, it resulted in a Williamite victory. It is generally viewed as a related conflict of the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War.
The Battle of Aughrim was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Jacobite army loyal to James II and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691, near the village of Aughrim, County Galway.
A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs.
Limerick, a city in western Ireland, was besieged twice in the Williamite War in Ireland in 1689–1691. On the first occasion, in August to September 1690, its Jacobite defenders retreated to the city after their defeat at the Battle of the Boyne. The Williamites, under William III, tried to take Limerick by storm but were driven off and had to retire into their winter quarters.
Events from the year 1689 in Ireland.
Events from the year 1690 in Ireland.
The Battle of Cavan took place in Cavan, Ireland on 11 February 1690 between forces of Williamite and Jacobite troops during the Williamite War in Ireland. It ended in a victory for the Williamites who captured, sacked and burned the town of Cavan before withdrawing to their forwarding base at Belturbet and further afield Enniskillen.
The siege of Carrickfergus took place in August 1689 when a force of Williamite troops under Marshal Schomberg landed and laid siege to the Jacobite garrison of Carrickfergus in Ireland. After a week the Jacobites surrendered, and were allowed to march out with the honours of war.
Sir Charles Carney was an Irish professional soldier, who later in his career became a Jacobite. He served as an officer in the Irish Army of James II during the Williamite War in Ireland.
The raid on Newry took place in November 1689 during the Williamite War in Ireland when a Franco-Irish force loyal to James II attacked the Williamite garrison of Newry in County Down. The raid was carried out by the French Major General Alexandre de Rainier de Droue, Marquis de Boisseleau a French officer serving with James' Irish Army. It was largely unsuccessful and the Jacobite forces withdrew having suffered casualties.
The Capture of Bandon occurred in 1689 when the town of Bandon in County Cork, Ireland was forcibly seized from its rebellious Protestant inhabitants by force of Irish Army troops under Justin McCarthy. The skirmishing at the town took place during the early stages of the Williamite War in Ireland. The Jacobite success at Bandon helped suppress any chance of a general Munster uprising against the rule of James II similar to that which occurred in Ulster the same year. The slogan "No Surrender!" is believed to have been first used at Bandon and subsequently taken up, more famously, by the defenders at the Siege of Derry the same year.
The Capture of Waterford took place in July 1690 during the Williamite War in Ireland when a force under the command of Percy Kirke captured the town of Waterford from its Jacobite Irish Army garrison. Full control of the town was not secured until Duncannon Fort across Waterford Harbour was also taken from its garrison under Michael Burke shortly afterwards. In both cases the garrisons were allowed to march out under escort to Jacobite-held Mallow in County Cork, but were denied the "honours of war" which they demanded.
Dundalk Camp was a military camp which served as the headquarters of the Williamite Army under Marshal Schomberg in Autumn 1689 as part of the Williamite War in Ireland. The camp rapidly became notorious for the great loss of life suffered by soldiers due to the exposed conditions, shortage of supplies and inadequate medical facilities.
The Boyne Obelisk, also known as King William's Obelisk, was an obelisk located in Oldbridge, near Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland.