173 - Horace VERNET (1789–1863)

Horace VERNET (1789–1863) The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, Study Oil on canvas H_38 cm W_46 cm Re-stretched, restored Related works: -Horace Vernet, The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, July 16, 1212, 1817, oil on canvas, 405 × 492 cm, National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon, inv. MV 4941. -Horace Vernet, Study of the White Horse for *The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa*, oil on paper mounted on canvas, 50 × 60.5 cm, Sotheby’s auction, June 27, 2002, lot 138, sold for €72,050 Bibliography: -Explanation of the Works of Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, and Engraving by Living Artists, Paris, 1817 Salon. -Clément de Ris, 1881, no. 4941. -Claire Constans, 1980, no. 4555. -Valérie Bajou (ed.), Horace Vernet (1789–1863), exhibition catalog, Versailles, Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, November 14, 2023 – March 17, 2024, Dijon, Éditions Faton, 2023. Provenance: -Aguttes auction of December 10, 2020, lot 87 -Private French collection The 19th century witnessed a genuine fascination with medieval history and the chivalric ideal, particularly through depictions of great battles. As early as 1816, Louis XVIII commissioned Horace Vernet to paint a large canvas commemorating The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa for 6,000 francs. Presented at the 1817 Salon, the work is now housed at the Palace of Versailles. Our painting is a preparatory study for this important composition by Vernet. It depicts the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, won on July 16, 1212, by the Christian armies over the Almohad forces. This major episode in the Spanish Reconquista pitted the Christian troops—led by Alfonso VIII of Castile, Peter II of Aragon, and Sancho VII of Navarre—against the army of Caliph Muhammad al-Nasir. At the center of the composition, Sancho VII of Navarre, mounted on his white horse, manages to break the chains protecting the enemy’s entrenchment, thereby paving the way for the Christian armies’ victory. In fact, following this battle, he chose to adopt the chains as the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Navarre. Vernet paid particular attention to the preparation of his painting. He produced numerous sketches and studies, including a study of the white horse that went on sale at Sotheby’s in 2002, a small sketch featured in the 2023 exhibition, and several other studies that have appeared on the art market. These various works attest to the painter’s extensive research into his composition. Our study, already particularly polished, captures the essence of the final composition. It nevertheless differs significantly from the final painting. The Moors depicted in the foreground are clothed here, whereas Vernet chose to depict them largely naked in the final version. It is likely that the painter initially envisaged a more traditional depiction of these combatants, before deciding that their clothing did not give them a sufficiently “barbaric” appearance. Their nudity thus serves to accentuate the violence of the scene and reinforce the contrast between the two armies. This change appears to reflect a desire to give this battle a dimension that transcends mere historical narrative. The clash thus takes the form of an almost biblical struggle between good and evil, in which the Christian armies triumph over an enemy deliberately portrayed as savage. At the center of the composition, Sancho VII of Navarre, breaking the enemy’s chains, embodies this victory. The choice to depict the combatants nude also allows the painter to align his work with great classical compositions, such as Jacques-Louis David’s *The Sabine Women*. A restoration carried out after the painting’s most recent auction also provided greater insight into the preparatory nature of this work. The removal of several layers of overpainting revealed certain areas left unfinished by the artist, particularly visible in the figure in the lower left corner.