Alphonse Marie Adolphe DE NEUVILLE
Alphonse de Neuville was born on May 31, 1836 in Saint-Omer in the Pas-de-Calais department and died on May 20, 1885 in Paris. He was a renowned French battle painter who was known for his impressive depictions of military scenes.
Coming from a wealthy family, Neuville first completed his schooling and then began studying engineering at the Naval Academy in Lorient, Brittany, in 1856.
During his studies, however, he developed a strong interest in painting and became a pupil of the renowned painter François-Édouard Picot. Through his mediation, he was later given the opportunity to study in the studio of Eugène Delacroix. Neuville made his debut as a painter in 1859 with a painting depicting an episode from the Crimean War at an exhibition at the Paris Salon.
Parallel to his studies and his first successes as a painter, Neuville created numerous illustrations for publishers such as Calman Lévy and Pierre-Jules Hertzel. Among the authors for whom he illustrated were greats such as Alexandre Dumas, Jules Verne and François Guizot.
After his participation in the Franco-Prussian War as an engineer officer, Neuville devoted himself increasingly to his artistic activities. After the war in particular, he was much in demand as a battle painter and, together with artists such as Ernest Meissonier and Edouard Detaille, he was regarded as a symbol of France’s moral renewal after what was perceived as a “French drama”. His works, which often pursued a patriotic style, were later regarded as significant contributions to military propaganda.
A highlight of Neuville’s career was his painting “Bivouac in front of the village of Le Bourget after the battle of December 21, 1870”, which was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1872 and brought him great fame.
Alphonse de Neuville died in Paris in 1885, shortly before the age of 49. His grave in the Montmartre cemetery is adorned with a bust of the artist and the symbolic female figure “Lamenting France”, both works by Francis de Saint-Vidal (1840-1900).