CAMPHAUSEN; WILHELM
D黶seldorf 1818 - 1885

Otto von Bismarck escorting Emperor Napoleon III to see King William I on the morning after the Battle of Sedan (1870). Oil on canvas. 53 x 88cm. Signed lower right: W.(lig.) Camphausen. Framed.

Literature:
Boetticher; Friedrich von: Malerwerke des Neunzehnten Jahrhunderts; vol I;1; p. 166; no.
83. Various renderings of the subject by Camphausen mentioned.

This painting depicts a version of 'Otto von Bismarck escorting Emperor Napoleon III to see King William I on the morning after the Battle of Sedan'; a subject Camphausen applied himself to several times. Other versions of this painting are at Friedrichsruh castle; German Historical Museum; Berlin; as well as Bavarian Army Museum; Ingolstadt; a sketch of the motif at hand is at Alte Nationalgalerie; Berlin.
Camphausen captured a glorious moment of triumph in German history on canvas: After Fance surrendered early in the morning of 2 September 1870; Napoleon III was captured and escorted to King William I of Prussia. Not only did this defeat of the French troops predetermine the Germans' victory; but it also borught about the proclamation of a republic in France.
In the course of the following decades; the Battle of Sedan became a symbol of the incompatible differences between Germans and French; heightening the German Empire's sense of national consciousnes: 'Sedantag' (day of Sedan) was celebrated on 2 September as patriotic holiday in the years between 1871 and 1918.

Other versions of this painting are at Friedrichsruh castle; German Historical Museum; Berlin; as well as Bavarian Army Museum; Ingolstadt; a sketch of the motif at hand is at Alte Nationalgalerie; Berlin.

Introduction Wilhelm CamphausenArt trade; Van Ham.