10 Works, February 12th. is artist Adolphe Yvon's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #043

Adolphe Yvon (French, 1817-1893)

The departure of the chief

Oil on canvas

25¾ x 60 in. (65.4 x 152.2 cm.)
Private collection

Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893) was a French painter known for his paintings of the Napoleonic Wars. Yvon studied under Paul Delaroche, rose to fame during the Second Empire, then finished his career as a teacher.

Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893)

Capture of the tower of Malakoff by General Mac-Mahon, September 8, 1855. Crimean War (1853-1856), c. 1857

La Prise

Oil on canvas

86 x 121 x 5.5 cm

Collections of the Palace of Versailles

The Battle of Malakoff was a French attack against Russian forces on the Malakoff redoubt and its subsequent capture on 8 September 1855 as a part of the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. The French army under General MacMahon successfully stormed the Malakoff redoubt, while a simultaneous British attack on the Redan to the south of the Malakoff was repulsed. In one of the war's defining moments, the French zouave Eugène Libaut raised the French flag on the top of the Russian redoubt. The Battle of Malakoff resulted in the fall of Sevastopol on 9 September, bringing the 11-month siege to an end. More on the Battle of Malakoff

Shortly after the end of the Crimean War in September 1855, Yvon was commissioned by the French government to paint a large picture of the capture of the Malakoff at Sevastopol. He sailed for the Crimea on February 19, 1856, where he spent six weeks compiling a portfolio of sketches, as well as visiting the battlefield of Inkerman. In 1857, the finished painting La Prise de la tour de Malakoff 8 Septembre 1855 was shown at the Paris Salon.

Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893)

Attack of the French cavalry in the battle at Evpatoria. Adolphe Yvon

Battle of Eupatoria (1854), c. before 1893

Oil on wood

Museum of Fine Arts, Nantes

The Siege of Sevastopol by French, Ottoman and British units became the focus of the Crimean War from October 1854.. The Battle of Eupatoria was the most important military engagement of the war on the Crimean theatre in 1855 outside Sevastopol. More on Battle of Eupatoria

Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893)

Combat dans la gorge de Malakoff, September 1855, c. between 1856 and 1859

Oil on canvas

Collections du château de Versailles

The Battle of Malakoff was a major battle during the Crimean War, fought between French-British forces against Russia on 8 September 1855 as a part of the Siege of Sevastopol. The French army under General MacMahon successfully stormed the Malakoff redoubt. The Battle of Malakoff brought about the capture of Sevastopol after one of the most horrific sieges of the 19th century. More on The Battle of Malakoff

Two years later came La Gorge de Malakoff (See above), and La courtine de Malakoff (See above). La Prise was a massive piece measuring 6 metres by 9 metres and represented the moment when the fortification was captured around midday.

In the succeeding years, Emperor Napoleon III began to admire his battle scenes; naturally he glorified the carnage of Napoleon I's campaigns (See below). 

Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893)

Marshal Ney Supporting the Rear Guard during the Retreat from Moscow, c. 1856

Oil on canvas

H 179.8 x W 301 cm

Manchester Art Gallery

Large-scale, snow covered war scene, depicting the retreat of Napoleon's army from Moscow. In the centre of the composition is a group of soldiers huddled together between the frozen trunk of a tree and a broken cart; standing within the group is the subject of the painting, Marshal Ney, who wears a bicorne hat. He is forward-facing and armed, his head turned to the right and his hand touching the shoulder of a wounded soldier. The soldiers on the far side of the group fire their weapons in defence. 

Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893)

Detail; Marshal Ney Supporting the Rear Guard during the Retreat from Moscow, c. 1856

Oil on canvas

H 179.8 x W 301 cm

Manchester Art Gallery

To the left of the composition is a cart laden with figures of the wounded follow a long procession of retreating soldiers, marching through the snow along a road beneath a bank covered with fir trees, protected from the rear by Marshal Ney and his group. In the left foreground, in front of the broken cart, are the frozen, naked bodies of three male figures. An indistinct, red-eyed figure huddles in the carts shelter. The leg of a dead horse is visible in the corner, near a heap of bones and a discarded military hat. In the right foreground is a small group of dead or dying figures huddled together, including a mother with a baby and an older son. In the background, the flat, snow covered landscape recedes into the darkness with the many mounted figures of the enemy galloping from the right towards the line of retreating forces. Moscow burns on the right horizon. More on this painting

Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893)

Bataille de Magenta, c. 1863

Oil on canvas

74 x 110 cm 

Private collection

The Battle of Magenta was fought on 4 June 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence, resulting in a French-Sardinian victory under Napoleon III against the Austrians under Marshal Ferencz Gyulai.. More on Battle of Magenta

Yvon became an officer of the Légion d'honneur in 1867, and painted Napoleon III's portrait the following year (unlocated). Yvon was known as the leading teacher of drawing at the École des Beaux-Arts (1863–83). 

Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893)

Transport des prisonniers russes par des cosaques/ Transport of Russian prisoners by Cossacks, c. 1873

Oil on canvas

56 x 61,50 cm 

Private collection

A few Americans received instruction from him, including Christian Schussele, Alfred Wordsworth Thompson, William Sartain, and J. Alden Weir. The latter took Yvon's afternoon life-drawing class starting in the fall of 1874. 

Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893)

Caesar Crosses the Rubicon, c. 1875

Oil on canvas

Private collection

Julius Caesar's crossing the Rubicon river in January 49 BC precipitated the Roman Civil War, which ultimately led to Caesar's becoming dictator and the rise of the imperial era of Rome. Caesar had been appointed to a governorship over a region that ranged from southern Gaul to Illyricum (but not Italy). As his term of governorship ended, the Roman Senate ordered Caesar to disband his army and return to Rome. He was explicitly ordered not to take his army across the Rubicon river, which was at that time a northern boundary of Italy. In January of 49 BC, Caesar brought the 13th legion across the river, which the Roman government considered insurrection, treason, and a declaration of war on the Roman Senate. According to some authors, he is said to have uttered the phrase "alea iacta est"—the die is cast—as his army marched through the shallow river. More on Caesar Crosses the Rubicon

Yvon provided the subject for compositional sketches for his students, for example, "The Assassination of Julius Caesar", for which he specified how it should be done: "Caesar covers his head with his toga . . . he was shoved to the base of Pompey's statue, which became bathed in his blood." 

Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893)

Genius of America', circa 1870

Oil on canvas

Private collection

Alexander Stewart, the American collector, commissioned Yvon to paint The Reconciliation of the North and the South (lost) in 1870, as well as The Genius of America (1858, 1870) (See above). His Portrait of President Carnot (1888) appeared at the World's Columbian Exposition. More on Adolphe Yvon

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