Page 329 - Beholding Liberty!
P. 329
HALL OF THE TROPHIES
II.8.C.2
Noël-Dieudonné Finart (1797-1852) The French Mission to the Morea in 1828 oil on canvas, 49 × 59 cm
Michael and Demetra Varkarakis Collection
THE AUTODIDACT ARTIST Noël-Dieud- onné Finart, who specialised in landscape paint- ing, usually of an exotic nature, has depicted here French soldiers at rest, talking to Greek fighters. They have landed in the Peloponnese, with the so- called French Mission, to oversee the evacuation of Turkish-Egyptian troops from the Morea in ac- cordance with the agreement signed by the great powers, England, France and Russia, one year af- ter the Battle of Navarino (1827). In August 1828, 14,000 French soldiers under General Maison, landed near Koroni. The scientific mission that ac-
companied the expedition studied the landscape, the flora, the antiquities and the architecture; its findings were published in three volumes (Expédi- tion Scientifique de la Morée, 1828-31).
This image shows French and Greek figures on Pet- alidi beach, where the French ships were anchored, having a moment of relaxation, centre; to the left, a Frenchman shows a cannon to a Greek; far left, a group of women and children observes and com- ments on the impressive foreigners. The painter made several variants of this work.
SCENES AND FIGURES OF FREEDOM The phenomenon of Philhellenism 329
