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1 of 253523 objects
George Jones (1786-1869)
The Battle of Vittoria Signed and dated 1822
Oil on canvas | 238.5 x 318.9 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 407186
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George Jones was an all-rounder: a serving officer in the Peninsular War; an active member of the Royal Academy; a friend and biographer of Sir Francis Chantrey (1781-1841) and J M W Turner (1775-1851) as well as an artist in his own right. In 1817 he published an illustrated account of the Battle of Waterloo, which earned him the nickname ‘Waterloo Jones'. He specialised in battle scenes at a time when spectacular panoramas were the rage in London – Henry Aston Barker (1774-1856) exhibited the battles of Vittoria and Waterloo at Leicester Square Panorama Theatre in 1814 and 1816 respectively. These two battles scenes (RCIN 407186 and 407187) were commissioned by George IV in 1822; they were hanging in the Throne Room at St James’s Palace by 1824 and remain there to this day. The Battle of Vittoria, fought on 21 June 1813, was a decisive victory for the allies (British Portuguese and Spanish) lead by the Marquess (later Duke) of Wellington against the French. Jones shows early evening when Wellington ordered his final advance. He and his staff officers occupy the foreground while the pattern of the battle is visible behind. To the left two rings of British troops in immaculate order, in the centre a column of Hussars and to the right an advance of Foot Guards and Rifle Brigade. The French are represented in the middle distance as a somewhat undifferentiated and perhaps disorderly mass, surrounding the city of Vittoria. Wellington is shown in a light cape on a white charger; the city and entire background appears transfigured as the clouds and smoke catch the evening sunshine: by these effects Jones suggests that the Napoleonic war is a crusade.
Provenance
Presumably acquired or painted for George IV
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
238.5 x 318.9 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
282.6 x 364.6 x 18.1 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)