Edouard Explains: Hussar With A Pipe And Alsatian Woman

Pen and watercolor drawing, Hussar with pipe and Alsatian woman, signed Édouard Detaille and dated 1878, lower right. A work of patriotic remembrance, typical of the nascent Third Republic, linked to the annexation of Alsace by Germany and the hope of a return to the motherland. A group of Alsatians also embodies three stages of life: the father in a hussar officer's uniform, a symbol of loyalty and memory, implying a hope for revenge; the young Alsatian woman in traditional dress, marking an attachment to her roots and a return to freedom; and in the foreground, the grandfather, embodying the history of the Alsatian people, bringing balance and serenity to this group. Édouard Detaille (1848-1912) was one of the great masters of French military painting. Heir to the Neoclassical and Romantic tradition of the First Empire, in the lineage of Gérard and Vernet, he distinguished himself through a rigorous and precise depiction of uniforms and scenes of war. Famous for his striking canvases on the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, he left a lasting impression. His work *The Dream* (1888) exalts heroic memory in a post-war patriotic context. Elected a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in 1892, and President of the Society of French Artists between 1896 and 1900, he contributed to the creation of the Army Museum in Paris, in which a large part of his works would be preserved. Distinctions: Medalist at the Salon of Painting and Sculpture in 1869, 1870, and 1872. Out of competition from 1873 and Medal of Honour in 1888. Grand Prize of the Universal Exhibition of 1889. Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour.