Page 230 - Beholding Liberty!

230 BEHOLDING LIBERTY!
ΙΙ.4.1
Horace Vernet (1789-1863) [attributed] Scene from the siege of Missolonghi
oil on canvas, 26 × 40 cm
Michael and Demetra Varkarakis Collection
THIS PAINTING, titled Scene from the Siege of Missolonghi, is attributed to the well-known French artist Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (1789-1863), better known as Horace Vernet, who specialised in war and Orientalist paintings.
These two themes are brought together here, in this scene from the siege of Missolonghi: The walled city can be seen in the background, with the heroic fight- ers by the sea.
ΙΙ.4.2
A. Jacquème (unidentified artist) The last defenders of Missolonghi oil on canvas, 48 x 55 cm
signed: A. JACQUEME (bottom right) Michael and Demetra Varkarakis Collection
NO SPECIFIC INFORMATION is avail- able about the artist who signs as A. Jacqueme the painting The Last Defenders of Missolonghi, except the fact that he was active around the mid-nine- teenth century. He replicates a painting by Joseph Denis (also known as Joseph Désiré) Odevaere (1775-1830) of the same subject.
A prominent representative of Neoclassicism, the Belgian painter Odevaere produced, between 1825 and 1829, several paintings on themes inspired by the Greek Revolution, including the iconic Lord By- ron on His Deathbed, of 1826 (Groeningemuseun, Bruges, Belgium). Odevaere’s enthusiasm for the Greek cause was such that he hellenised his name to Dionysius.
Odevaere’s original painting (Amsterdam, Rijksmu- seum, SK-A-1093) and A. Jacqueme’s accurate copy present the heroic fighters at the last moment, hav- ing decided a heroic sortie. Set in apposition, they
The Missolonghi fighters are rushing towards a ship which has sunk off the shore. It is not clear what is taking place; the artist focuses not on the accurate de- piction of a specific event; he seeks to convey the dra- ma of the historic events taking place in a town that became iconic of the Greek War. And this he achieves by intensity in the motion of the human figures, espe- cially in the group to the right, and the strong light-dark contrast that communicates to the viewer the anxiety felt by the defenders of Missolonghi.
are portrayed in determined contemplation. The artist has introduced a variety of poses but, overall, they convey the same sense of the final hour. The flag with the Christian symbol (ΧΡ) dominates in the centre; next to it, the cleric prepares to set fire to the powder magazine so as not to fall into the hands of the Turks, who are already invading, to the right. The vivid, warm colours on the clothes of the figures, especially on the priest, juxtaposed to the darkness that prevails in the painting, accentu- ate the desperate plight of the heroes.
The painting is in reference to the holocaust that took place when Christos Kapsalis (1751-1826), a heroic old inhabitant of Missolonghi, unable to leave the town in the sortie, gathered other in- capacitated inhabitants (some 400 individuals – women, children, sick and helpless) in Botsaris Barracks powder magazine and set it on fire, also killing many of the Turkish invaders.