Head of a Young Man Glancing Down - Study for The Battle of Waterloo

Artist Sir William Allan (Edinburgh, Scotland, 1782 - 1850)

Datec.1843

Mediumred, black and white chalk on paper

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 20.2 cm, Width: 16 cm
Frame: Height: 55.6 cm, Width: 40.5 cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1960.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG003371

Keywords

About MeThis chalk drawing is a preparatory study for the oil painting "The Battle of Waterloo, 18th June 1815, 7.30pm, from the French Side" (1843). Allan travelled several times to Waterloo and painted it twice in total: in this case, from the French side, and again four years later from the English. That he would do so speaks of his desire to be above all an impartial observer of people and place. The Duke of Wellington, who paid the unprecedented sum of £1200 for the painting, testified to its unwavering accuracy.

It is a quiet resolve that registers most noticeably on the face in this study. With the merest use of chalk, Allan draws a striking image that stands alone on the merits of its poise and serenity. But, on the contrary, we find this figure in the central foreground of the battle scene: he is a fallen French Cuirassier at Waterloo, unable to retreat with the rest his company. It was this retreat en masse that elicited the famous, if apocryphal, retort "La Garde meurt, elle ne se rend pas!" ("The Guard dies, it does not surrender!") Allan's drawing seems to commemorate the sentiments of this statement.
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The Duke of Wellington paid the then substantial sum of £1200 for the painting 'The Battle of Waterloo, 18th June, 7.30pm, from the French Side' (1843), for which this was one of many preparatory sketches.