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MILLON
150
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Louis Ambroise Garneray (1783–1857)
See original version (French)
150
-
Louis Ambroise Garneray (1783–1857)
See original version (French)
Estimate €15,000 - €20,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Louis Ambroise Garneray (1783–1857)
The Avenger of the People during the Battle of Prairial
Oil on canvas
H. 60 × W. 83 cm
Signed lower right
Louis-Ambroise Garneray is regarded as the first official painter to the French Navy. In 1817, he became the official painter to the Grand Admiral of France, the Duke of Angoulême.
On 1 June 1794, during the Battle of Prairial, the Vengeur-du-Peuple, a French 74-gun ship commanded by Captain Jean-François Renaudin, engaged in a fierce battle with HMS Brunswick. After several hours of fighting, the French ship, dismasted and hit by British fire, slowly sank into the water. Renaudin had the British flag hoisted as a sign of surrender and a plea for help, then boarded the HMS Culloden. Severely damaged, the Vengeur-du-Peuple sank rapidly.
Republican propaganda would subsequently portray this defeat as a moral victory. Bertrand Barère, rapporteur for the Committee of Public Safety, stated in his speech that the sailors of the Vengeur had refused to surrender to the enemy and had all died as the ship sank, shouting: ‘Long live the Fatherland, long live the Republic!’ whilst singing La Marseillaise.
This painting should be viewed in conjunction with two works by Louis-Ambroise Garneray:
— *The Ship Le Vengeur*, oil on canvas, 53 × 76 cm, sold on 28 July 2024 by Boisgirard.
— *The Ship Le Vengeur*, oil on canvas, 80 × 100 cm, exhibited at the 1838 Salon under no. 772.
Private collection, Bordeaux.
In the family for three generations.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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