Adolphe Yvon (30 January 1817 – 11 September 1893) was a French painter known for his paintings of the Napoleonic Wars. Yvon studied under Paul Delaroche, rose to fame during the Second Empire, then finished his career as a teacher.
Career
Adolphe Yvon was born on 30 January 1817 in
Eschweiler.
Shortly after the end of the
Crimean War in September 1855, Yvon was commissioned by the French government to paint a large picture of the capture of the Malakoff at
Sevastopol.
[Harrington, Peter, "Painting the Crimean War", Military Illustrated No. 109, June 1997, p. 32-33.] He sailed for the Crimea on February 19, 1856, where he spent six weeks compiling a portfolio of sketches, as well as visiting the battlefield of Inkerman. In 1857, the finished painting
La Prise de la tour de Malakoff 8 septembre 1855 was shown at the
Paris Salon, and two years later came
La Gorge de Malakoff, and
La courtine de Malakoff.
[Delperier, Louis, "Yvon, Le dernier des classiques", Uniformes, No. 68, July–August 1982, pp. 12-18.] La Prise was a massive piece measuring 6 metres by 9 metres and represented the moment when the fortification was captured around midday.
In the succeeding years, Emperor Napoleon III began to admire his battle scenes. Yvon became an officer of the Légion d'honneur in 1867, and painted Napoleon III's portrait the following year (unlocated). Yvon was known as the leading teacher of drawing at the École des Beaux-Arts (1863–83), and published the book Method of Drawing, also in 1867.
He died on 11 September 1893 in Paris.
Gallery
File:1861 Russian Noble And Serfs From A Drawing By Adolphe Yvon 01.jpg|Russian Nobility and serfs (1861)
File:Adolphe Yvon - Haussmann présente à l'Empereur le plan d'annexion des Communes.jpg|Baron Haussmann Presenting the Annexation Plan to the Emperor (1865)
File:Yvon - Portrait de Ferdinand Barrot (1806-1883), homme politique (P345).jpg|Portrait of Ferdinand Barrot (1867)
File:Adolphe Yvon - Portrait of Napoleon III - Walters 3795.jpg| Portrait of Napoleon III (1868). The Walters Art Museum.
File:Yvon 3.jpg| The Battle of Eupatoria (date unknown)
File:In the Harem.jpg|In the Harem (date unknown)
Further reading
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Eaton, D. Cady (1909). A Handbook of Modern French Painting. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., p. 284.
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Thierry, A., "Adolphe Yvon: Souvenirs d'un peintre militaire", Revue des Deux Mondes 71 (1933): 844–873.
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Heiser, E. (1974). Adolphe Yvon, 1817–1893, et les siens: Notices biographiques. Sarreguemines.
Paintings
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The Assassination of Julius Caesar
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The Charge of the French Cuirassiers at Reichshof
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Marshall Ney at Retreat in Russia
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La Prise de la tour de Malakoff 8 septembre 1855 (Palace of Versailles)
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La Gorge de Malakoff (Palace of Versailles)
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La courtine de Malakoff
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Genius of America (New York State Education Department)
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From Solferino 1863
