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an image of a painting of a battle with ships in the wateran image of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture of a picturepainting of a battle between two ships in the oceana picture of a picture of a battle in the ocean
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MILLON

150 - Louis Ambroise Garneray (1783–1857)
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Estimate €15,000 - €20,000
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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 HMS Culloden. Severely damaged, the Vengeur-du-Peuple sank rapidly. Republican propaganda subsequently portrayed this defeat as a moral victory. Bertrand Barère, rapporteur for the Committee of Public Safety, declared 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 is linked to three works: —*The Ship *Le Vengeur***, oil on canvas, 53 × 76 cm, sold on 28 July 2024 by Boisgirard. —*The Ship Le Vengeur*: during the battle fought on 13 Prairial between the French fleet, commanded by Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse, and the English fleet, commanded by Admiral Howe, the 74-gun ship, the Vengeur, attacked by superior forces, had been dismasted, riddled with holes and was taking on water from all sides. The sailors on board then hastened to nail the flags to the remains of the masts, and the crew gathered on the quarterdeck, renewed their oath to conquer or die, and triumphantly carried the colours of France into the depths. Oil on canvas, 80 × 100 cm, exhibited in Paris at the Musée Royal des Arts for the 1838 Salon under no. 772. (possibly the painting we are presenting) —The Ship ‘Le Vengeur’, aquatint, 60 × 83 cm, by Jean-Marie Jazet, based on the painting by Louis Garneray that we are offering for sale. Private collection, Bordeaux. In the family for three generations.
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About the sale Marine and Travel
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Auction time 10/14/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures modified on 10/07/2026 at 3:26 PM
Lot description modified on 10/07/2026 at 3:29 PM
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