Page 258 - Beholding Liberty!

258 BEHOLDING LIBERTY!
II.5.5
Jean-Pierre-Marie Jazet (1788-1871)
after Louis Ambroise Garneray (1783-1857)
The naval victory of Navarino, after 1828
coloured aquatint, 59.5 × 87.8 cm
signed: Peint par L. Garneray (bottom left) Gravé par Jazet (bottom right)
inscribed (caption): VICTOIRE NAVALE DE NAVARIN / Remportée sur la flotte ottomane par les forces combinées
de la France, de l’Angleterre, et de la Russie sous le commandement en chef de l’Amiral Anglais Sir Edw. Codrington, /
le comte Amiral Chr. de Rigny commandant les forces françaises et le contre-Amiral Heyden commandant les forces Russes, le 20 octobre 1827 (low centre)
Hellenic Parliament Art Collection, inv. n. 581
THIS LARGE-SCALE COLOURED AQUATINT by Jean-Pierre-Marie Jazet, de- picting the Naval Victory at Navarino, is the most popular image of the naval battle; it is familiar from other versions, made after a painting by Jean-Charles Langlois (1789-1870).
Jazet’s engraving is perhaps the most authorita- tive visual account of the battle, supplemented by textual information about the Allied fleet; it is made after the large-scale oil painting The Bat- tle of Navarino (179.5 × 277.8 cm), produced by Louis Ambroise Garneray (1783-1857) in 1828, now in the Versailles (Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon, inv. no MV1795).
An accomplished seascape artist patronised by the Grand Admiral of France, Garneray visited Navarino on official mission a mere fortnight after the naval battle had taken place. He made several drawings for preliminary study on the
spot and went off on a tour of Greece; he also worked on the painting while on the island of Milos. To ensure an accurate and detailed ac- count of the events, he obtained first-hand infor- mation from the French Admiral de Rigny, whom he met in Izmir in July 1828. The painting was officially unveiled in October 1828 in Paris, on the first anniversary of the naval battle. Partly due to its success, Garneray produced a number of versions and variations of the Navarino naval battle: We know of a larger one, presented at the Galerie Lebrun in May 1829; a third version was presented at the 1831 Salon. The version reproduced in Jazet’s print, therefore, visual- ly documents the historical event: In the fore- ground, Allied warships attack the Turkish guard on the island of Sphacteria; in the background, the tactical movements of the fleet are captured in meticulous detail.