Allegory of Waterloo
Allegory of Waterloo, also known as Triumph of the Duke of Wellington or the Triumph of Great Britain after the Battle of Waterloo, was a monumental painting by British artist James Ward, completed in 1821, and now lost.
Ward won a competition organised by the British Institution in 1816 to create an artwork to celebrate the final victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo the previous year. He was commissioned to create a full-size painting, and paid 1,000 guineas.
Rather than painting portraits of the
The painting seems to have been inspired by a 17th-century tapestry, Triumph of the Eucharist over Ignorance and Blindness, from a 20-part series by
Ward's painting took 6 years to complete, and the final work measured 21 × 35 feet (6.4 × 10.7 m), more than three times the expected size. Although his concept won the first prize in 1816, praise had turned to criticism by the time the painting was completed in 1822. The monumental image was exhibited at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly in 1822, and then donated to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, but it was so large it was rarely hung in the hall there as intended. It was later cut into several pieces which have been lost.
Some studies and drawings survive. The historical collections of the
References
- James Ward's Exhibition Pictures of 1838: Controversy in Paint, Edward J. Nygren, The Art Bulletin, Vol. 61, No. 3 (Sep., 1979), pp. 448–459
- The battle of Waterloo, in an allegory, painted for the British institution for encouraging the fine arts, James Ward, 1821
- Design for The Waterloo Allegory, c.1815–22, wikigallery.org
- Design for 'The Waterloo Allegory', Fitzwilliam Museum
- The Triumph of the Duke of Wellington (sketch) by James Ward, YourPaintings
- The Triumph of the Duke of Wellington (sketch), James Ward, The Royal Hospital Chelsea, ArtUK
- Wellington and Waterloo: The Duke, The Battle and Posterity, 1815–2015, R E Foster
- James Ward, Sphinx Fine Art