De Neuville (1835-1885), The Defence of Rorke’s Drift (1880, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia, image in the Public Domain). Oil on canvas, 1809 x 3014 mm.
De Neuville was Parisian Salon painter and a celebrated artist of battle scenes. His treatment of Rorke’s Drift is superior to Lady Butler’s and Dugan’s. The painting’s main strength is its representation of the frenzied nature of the conflict, with staccato lines defining the interface of enemies at the right-hand side; the sharpness of the bayonets is particularly accentuated. Many of the British combatants are included, with Captain Schiess in the background and Chaplain Smith handing out ammunition in the centre ground. Bromhead is depicted pointing and Chard (see detail) positioned on the front line. All of these likenesses were based on photographs. However, there is no detailed portraiture of the Zulus, who are figured purely as a half-seen enemy. This privileging of the British stresses the artist’s aim to produce a propaganda piece in which fortitude and bravery are celebrated on one side only.
In this detail Lt. Chard is shown fighting at the front. De Neuville accentuates his large and imposing features, endowing him with a resolute physiognomy. Important, too, is his almost casual stance: all of the men on either side are desperately repelling the enemy as they keep their heads down to avoid fire, while Chard seems to be treating the event as a nuisance rather than a fight to the death; louche gestures are always ascribed to the officers. It is not true that the commander fought in this way, as he directed the action and his loss would have been a disaster for the men. Nevertheless, de Neuville figures Chard as the invulnerable British hero who has no fear and takes everything in his stride.
De Neuville was commissioned to paint the picture by the Fine Art Society, London. It was displayed in a fee-paying exhibition, where it was a great success with the picture-going public, and afterwards engraved on steel for the walls of patriotic homes.
Created 27 February 2025