Ernest Slingeneyer, Fighting on the Sea
01 Classic Works of Art, Marine Paintings — With Footnotes, #216
Fighting on the Sea, C. 1857
Oil on canvas
293 x 370 cm
Private Collection
The painting depicts a true incident from the war of the first French republic, as the artist remarks in the catalog of the exhibition in The Hague 1857. The French ship Le Feu sank during a campaign in the North Sea, only five sailors managed to enter a raft. After two days they were spotted by a British ship which sent a sloop to them. But the French sailors defended themselves until death to avoid captivity. The subject of the painting with shipwrecked men, crowded together on a raft goes back to the famous painting The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault (1819). But while Gericault chose to show a blameful, scandalous incident within the French navy, Slingeneyer decided to depict a heroic story with great pathos. More on this painting
Ernest Slingeneyer (1820–1894). His artistic training was at the academy of Antwerp by Gustave Wappers. From the beginning he prefered to paint historic themes. With only 19 years he exhibited his first painting. The colossal painting Le Vengeur, exhibited in 1845 at the Salon of Brussels, was admired by the Belgian king. He was showered with honours and received numerous orders. In 1878 he was in charge of executing 13 painting for the great hall of the Academiënpalais in Brussels and was paid with a record payment of 122.000 Belgian Franc. His great success and influence led to a late political career in the Belgian Parliament. More on Ernest Slingeneyer
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