The Great Gallery
← Art Through History › The 19th Century

1870–1871

The Franco-Prussian War & the Paris Commune

In 1870 France declared war on Prussia and lost quickly. Emperor Napoleon III was captured at Sedan, Paris was besieged and starved for four months, and Germany became an empire. Then Parisians rose in a short-lived revolt called the Paris Commune, which was crushed in a week of bloody fighting.

Why artists painted it

French painters like Meissonier and Detaille turned the defeat into pictures of courage, loss and hope for revenge. Their huge, detailed canvases are history lessons you can walk into.

Champigny, December 1870 Champigny, December 1870 · Édouard Detaille, 1879

11 artworks about this moment

Champigny, December 1870 Champigny, December 1870 Édouard Detaille · 1879 👁️ Painted at the time French troops attack in the snow at Champigny in December 1870, trying to break out of besieged Paris. The Charge of the 9th Cuirassiers at Morsbronn The Charge of the 9th Cuirassiers at Morsbronn Édouard Detaille · 1873 👁️ Painted at the time French armored cavalry charge through the narrow streets of the village of Morsbronn on August 6, 1870, in a brave but hopeless attack against Prussian infantry. The Cemetery of Saint-Privat The Cemetery of Saint-Privat Alphonse de Neuville · 1881 👁️ Painted at the time French soldiers defend a village cemetery at Saint-Privat against German attackers during the Franco-Prussian War in August 1870. Bourbaki's Army Crossing into Switzerland Bourbaki's Army Crossing into Switzerland Edouard Castres · 1881 👁️ Painted at the time The worn-out French army of General Bourbaki, starved and half frozen, crosses into Switzerland in February 1871 to escape the Germans, and Swiss people took the soldiers in. The Proclamation of the German Empire The Proclamation of the German Empire Anton von Werner · 1885 👁️ Painted at the time On January 18, 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, the German princes proclaim King Wilhelm I of Prussia Emperor of Germany, with Bismarck in white at the center. At Headquarters outside Paris At Headquarters outside Paris Anton von Werner · 1894 👁️ Painted at the time German officers rest in a smart French parlor during the siege of Paris, one with his boots on the table beside a piano. Bismarck and Napoleon III after Sedan Bismarck and Napoleon III after Sedan Wilhelm Camphausen · 1878 👁️ Painted at the time The captured French emperor Napoleon III sits with the Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck after the Battle of Sedan in September 1870, the defeat that ended the French Empire. General Faidherbe at Bapaume General Faidherbe at Bapaume Charles Édouard Armand-Dumaresq · 1883 👁️ Painted at the time French General Louis Faidherbe rides on a white horse at the Battle of Bapaume in January 1871, one of the few French successes in the late war. The Burning of the Hôtel de Ville, 24 May 1871 The Burning of the Hôtel de Ville, 24 May 1871 Léon Sabatier · 1873 👁️ Painted at the time The great Paris city hall, the Hôtel de Ville, burns on May 24, 1871, during the last week of the Paris Commune, the radical government of Paris. The Arrest of Louise Michel The Arrest of Louise Michel Jules Girardet · 1871 👁️ Painted at the time Louise Michel, a teacher who fought for the Paris Commune, is arrested by soldiers in 1871 and later sent to a prison colony in the Pacific. Hope Hope Pierre Puvis de Chavannes · 1872 👁️ Painted at the time A young woman in white sits among ruins, holding a green branch, as a symbol of hope after France's defeat in the war of 1870 and 1871.