In the Trenches

Description Members of the Garde Mobile (French expeditionary forces) are huddled in a shallow trench during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. De Neuville has conveyed the general misery and tedium between battles that is associated with trench warfare. The artist complained that his dealer, Alphonse Goupil, wanted more flattering, less disturbing subjects and refused to pay him more than 6,000 francs, a small fee, for this painting. De Neuville entered the naval school at Lorient in 1856, where his artistic instincts began. His work focuses on war, battle scenes, and soldiers. He also illustrated "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" and Guizot's "History of France" as well as others. He also studied under Eugène Delacroix.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
3/31/1943	Treatment	varnish removed; coated
9/07/1984	Treatment	surface cleaned; varnish removed; strip-lined; coated; loss compensation; inpainted; other

Exhibitions

• War à la Mode: Military Painting from the Forbes Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1977.
• Redefining Genre: French and American Painting 1850-1900. The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis; Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Meridian International Center, Washington. 1995-1996.
• From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2014-2016.

Provenance Goupil et Cie., Paris (date and mode of acquisition unknown) (photograph no. 1405); Henry Wallis, London (date and mode of acquisition unknown); Purchased by William T. Walters (through George A. Lucas as agent), Baltimore, September 30, 1878 [1]; inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931. [1] The Diary of George A. Lucas, p. 462.

Inscriptions [Signature] Lower right: A de Neuville; [Date] Lower right: 1874

Credit Acquired by William T. Walters, before 1878