The Polish Prometheus | |
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Artist | Horace Vernet |
Year | 1831 |
Type | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 35 cm× 45 cm(14 in× 18 in) |
Location | Polish Library in Paris, Paris |
The Polish Prometheus or Allegory of Defeated Poland is an oil on canvas painting by Horace Vernet, from 1831, inspired by Poland's recent failed November Uprising against the Russian Empire. The ancient Greek character Prometheus played a major part in the quest for emancipation in Polish literature and art, particularly given his eventual liberation by Heracles. [1]
The painting shows a dead and bleeding Polish soldier in a white uniform with a sabre. On his chest rests an enormous black eagle (symbol of Russia) wearing the Order of Saint Andrew, whilst in the background are a woman fleeing a Russian cavalryman (left) and sketches of Polish soldiers (right). The painter was close to the liberal French circles who supported the Uprising. In 1950, Louise de Saint-Maurice gave the work to the Polish Library in Paris, where it still hangs. [2] [3]
Émile Jean-Horace Vernet more commonly known as simply Horace Vernet, was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects.
The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last insurgents were captured by the Russian forces in 1864.
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Claude-Joseph Vernet was a French painter. His son, Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, was also a painter.
Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, better known as Carle Vernet, was a French painter, the youngest child of Claude-Joseph Vernet and the father of Horace Vernet.
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Italian Brigands Surprised by Papal Troops is an 1831 painting produced in Rome by Horace Vernet. It is kept at the Walters Art Museum, in Baltimore.
The Barrière de Clichy. Defence of Paris, 30 March 1814 is an oil-on-canvas painting by Horace Vernet from 1820. It shows a battle against Russian cossacks at the barrière de Clichy, highlighting the soldiers present but not engaged in fighting. Vernet's participation in this battle marked his only experience in active combat, which influenced his choice of subject matter for the remainder of his career.
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The Death of Prince Poniatowski is an 1816 history painting by the French artist Horace Vernet. It depicts the death of the Polish general Józef Poniatowski at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813.
The Salon of 1831 was an art exhibition held at the Louvre in Paris between June and August 1831. It was the first Salon during the July Monarchy and the first to be held since the Salon of 1827, as a planned exhibition of 1830 was cancelled due to the French Revolution of 1830.
The Salon of 1822 was an art exhibition held at the Louvre in Paris, opening on 24 April 1822. The Salon took place every two or three years at the time and featured paintings and sculpture. One of the most notable works to be displayed was The Barque of Dante by the romantic painter Eugène Delacroix, which owed much to Théodore Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa which had appeared at the previous Salon of 1819. Taking place during the Restoration era, it was the last to be held during the reign of Louis XVIII. The Salon of 1824 took place after his brother Charles X had succeeded to the throne.
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