20 Works, Today, April 3rd is artist Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #92

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux  (1815–1884)

La Défense de Mazagran on February 4-5-6, 1840, c. 1841

Oil and canvas

Museum of the History of France 

The Battle of Mazagran was a combat between Arab and Berber forces against French troops during the French conquest of Algeria. The small French contingent, holed up in a fortification at Mazagran, near the port city of Mostaganem, withstood several days of assault by `Abd al-Qādir's troops. Unaware that the French defenders were running short of gunpowder, Abdal-Qādir's troops withdrew after several days of ineffectual activity. More on The Battle of Mazagran

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux (3 April 1815, Paris – 8 November 1884, Paris) was a French artist and illustrator, known primarily as a battle painter.

He was born in Paris, France, studied art at the studio of Léon Cogniet, and first exhibited his work at the Paris Salon of 1833.

In 1840, he was sent by the King to Algeria where he followed the campaign of the Oran of the Duke of Aumale. His sketches and watercolors, made during his stay, are kept at the Condé Museum in Chantilly (See below).

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux  (1815–1884)

Presumed portraits of Cherif Boubaghla and Lalla Fatma n'Soumer leading the revolutionary army, c. 1866

Oil on canvas

81 x 163 cm. (32 x 64 in.)

Private collection

Sherif Boubaghla or Cherif Boubaghla was an Algerian military resistance leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion in the mid-19th century. More on Sherif Boubaghla

Lalla Fatma N'Soumer was an important figure of the Algerian resistance movement during the first years of the French colonial invasion of Algeria. She was seen as the embodiment of the struggle. More on Lalla Fatma N'Soumer

In this composition, which illustrates the Algerian resistance against the French army in 1850s, the rebellion is personified by its leader, the female warrior Lalla Fatma n'Soumer. She courageously rides next to Cherif Boubaghla, pushing back the attack of the enemy. Although it was thanks to her triumphant success that General Randon requested a cease-fire, she died in captivity in 1863 after being arrested by Randon in 1857.

Félix Henri Emmanuel Philippoteaux, 1815 - 1884

THE ARAB SCOUTS, c. 1866

Oil on canvas

59 by 99cm., 23¼ by 39in.

Private collection

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux (French, 1815–1884)

Battaglia tra soldati arabi/ Battle between Arab soldiers

Oil on canvas

100 x 117 cm. (39.4 x 46.1 in.)

Private collection

Félix Henri Emmanuel Philippoteaux

Scène de rue/ Street scene

Oil on original canvas

69x 51.5 cm 

Private collection

Félix Henri Emmanuel Philippoteaux (1815–1884)

Dutch Girls Dancing

Oil on canvas

H 43.2 x W 68.6 cm

Northampton Museums & Art Gallery

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux  (1815–1884)

A Love Idyll

Oil on panel

35.5 x 26.5 cm, 

Private collection

One of his best-known works was a depiction of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, painted in the form of a cyclorama, a type of large panoramic painting on the inside of a cylindrical platform designed to provide a viewer standing in the middle of the cylinder with a 360° view of the painting. Viewers surrounded by the panoramic image are meant to feel as if they are standing in the midst of a historic event or famous place.

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux  (1815–1884)

Lamartine refusing the red flag in front of the Town Hall , c. 19th century

Oil on canvas

Height: 298 cm (117.3 in) Edit this at Wikidata

Small palace 

Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869), a writer, poet and Minister for Foreign Affairs whose social reform, took on many presidential duties. He proclaimed what became known as the ‘Second Republic’ in a famous speech from the balcony of the Hȏtel de Ville in Paris (See above).

This painting shows Lamartine at the Hȏtel de Ville on the 25 February, rejecting the Red Flag of socialism as the new flag of France in place of the Tricolore of the First Republic. Though many revolutionaries preferred it and its longstanding connection to radical reform, for Lamartine and others, the Red Flag was a ‘blood’ flag, a symbol of anarchy which represented the threat of a workers’ republic, rather than a liberal democratic government. While Lamartine ruled France for just three months, the Tricolore remains the French national flag to this day. More on this painting

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux  (1815–1884)

The Last Banquet of the Girondins, c. 1850

Oil on canvas

Height: 325.0 cm; Width: 457.0 cm

Museum of the French Revolution

In the foreground on the left is stretched on a stretcher the lifeless body of Charles Éléonor Dufriche-Valazé who had stabbed himself in the courtroom of the Revolutionary Tribunal at the announcement of the death sentence.

The Girondins, or Girondists, were members of a loosely knit political faction during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnards, they initially were part of the Jacobin movement. They campaigned for the end of the monarchy, but then resisted the spiraling momentum of the Revolution, which caused a conflict with the more radical Montagnards. They dominated the movement until their fall in the insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793, which resulted in the domination of the Montagnards and the purge and eventual mass execution of the Girondins. This event is considered to mark the beginning of the Reign of Terror. More on The Girondins

Philippoteaux also produced a large number of works chronicling the rise and successes of Napoleon Bonaparte, including a portrait of Napoleon in his regimental uniform and a group of paintings of French victories in the Napoleonic Wars. Philippoteaux was awarded the Légion d'honneur in 1846.

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux  (1815–1884)

Last fights at Père-Lachaise, c. 1871

Oil on canvas

Height: 51.5 cm (20.2 in); Width: 93.5 cm (36.8 in)

Aquitaine Museum, Bordeaux

The working class of Paris were feeling ostracized after the decadence of the Second Empire and the Franco-Prussian War. The Prussians besieged Paris in September 1870, causing suffering among Parisians. 

The Communards were members and supporters of the short-lived 1871 Paris Commune formed in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War and France's defeat.

During the war, the capital had moved from Paris to Bordeaux. When the Franco-Prussian War ended, the government declined to move back to Paris and instead moved to Versailles. In the early morning of March 18, the government sent military forces into Paris to collect a reserve of cannons and machine guns. The detachment was still gathering the munitions when the Parisians awoke, and soon the soldiers were surrounded. In the chaos that followed, the soldiers killed two of their own, and by the end of the day, they mainly sided with the Parisians. Insurgents now controlled the city, and they declared a new government called the Paris Commune, which lasted from March 18 to May 28, 1871. 

Starting on May 21 and continuing through May 28, soldiers chased the National Guard members who sided with the Communards through the streets.

Félix Philippoteaux shows a disorder of federates and communards occupied to defend the main gate of the cemetery, on the boulevard de Ménilmontant, and to cannonade Paris while facing Versailles in hand-to-hand combat between the graves.

The Commune is dying on its last barricades. Due to a lack of ammunition, fighting with knives took place in the middle of the graves. More on this painting

Philippoteaux's son Paul Philippoteaux was also an artist; both were famous for their production of cycloramas. Father and son collaborated on The Defence of the Fort d'Issy in 1871. They also collaborated on a cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg that became a celebrated work in the United States (See below).

Paul Philippoteaux  (1846–1923)

Gettysburg Cyclorama (detail 1), c. 1863

Oil on canvas

Height: 27 ft (822.9 cm); Width: 359 ft (109.4 m)

Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center

Paul Philippoteaux  (1846–1923)

Gettysburg Cyclorama (detail 2), c. 1863

Oil on canvas

Height: 27 ft (822.9 cm); Width: 359 ft (109.4 m)

Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center

Paul Philippoteaux  (1846–1923)

Gettysburg Cyclorama (detail 3), c. 1863

Oil on canvas

Height: 27 ft (822.9 cm); Width: 359 ft (109.4 m)

Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center

Paul Philippoteaux  (1846–1923)

Gettysburg Cyclorama (detail 4), c. 1863

Oil on canvas

Height: 27 ft (822.9 cm); Width: 359 ft (109.4 m)

Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center

Paul Philippoteaux  (1846–1923)

Gettysburg Cyclorama (detail 5), c. 1863

Oil on canvas

Height: 27 ft (822.9 cm); Width: 359 ft (109.4 m)

Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center

Paul Philippoteaux  (1846–1923)

Gettysburg Cyclorama (detail 6), c. 1863

Oil on canvas

Height: 27 ft (822.9 cm); Width: 359 ft (109.4 m)

Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center

Paul Philippoteaux  (1846–1923)

Gettysburg Cyclorama (detail 7), c. 1863

Oil on canvas

Height: 27 ft (822.9 cm); Width: 359 ft (109.4 m)

Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux  (1815–1884)

Napoleon at the Battle of Rivoli (January 14, 1797), c. 1844

Oil on canvas

Height: 465 cm (15.2 ft); Width: 543 cm (17.8 ft)

Palace of Versailles 

The Battle of Rivoli (14–15 January 1797) was a key victory in the French campaign in Italy against Austria. Napoleon Bonaparte's 23,000 Frenchmen defeated an attack of 28,000 Austrians under General of the Artillery Jozsef Alvinczi, ending Austria's fourth and final attempt to relieve the siege of Mantua. Rivoli further demonstrated Napoleon's brilliance as a military commander and led to the French consolidation of northern Italy. More on The Battle of Rivoli

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux  (1815–1884)

The Battle of Waterloo, The British Squares Receiving the Charge of the French Cuirassiers, c. 1874

Oil on canvas

H 99 x W 155 cm

Victoria and Albert Museum

An infantry square, also known as a hollow square, was a historic combat formation in which an infantry unit formed in close order, usually when it was threatened with cavalry attack.[1] As a traditional infantry unit generally formed a line to advance, more nimble cavalry could sweep around the end of the line and attack from the undefended rear or burst through the line, with much the same effect. More on the British Squares

The armoured French Cuirassiers  were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. They were the 'shock troops' of their day, ready to smash through any weaknesses in the enemy line and win the victory. None were more famous than the French, with the image of thousands of them pouring over the field of Waterloo as one of the most instantly recognisable in military history. More on French Cuirassiers

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux  (1815–1884)

Return of the ashes of Napoleon I of Saint Helena. December 14, 1840, c. 1867

Oil on canvas

Height: 125 cm (49.2 in); Width: 200 cm (78.7 in)

The Château de Malmaison

The retour des cendres (literally "return of the ashes", though "ashes" is used here as meaning his mortal remains, as he was not cremated) was the return of the mortal remains of Napoleon I of France from the island of St Helena to France and their burial in the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris in 1840, on the initiative of Adolphe Thiers and King Louis-Philippe. More on the return of the ashes

Father and son enhanced the artistic effect of their cylindrical painting by adding a third dimension, including elements of diorama placed in front of the painting, and by incorporating sections of walls and battlefield objects that blended into the painted parts of the presentation.

He died in 1884. More on Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux

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