ON DEMAND WE ISSUE A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY (money-back-guarantee)

In this work, we become witness to one of the final scenes of the Battle of Hondschoote (September 6-8, 1793). In the outcome of the battle, the French Revolutionary Army defeated the Anglo-Hanoverian Corps of the Duke of York after his unsuccessful attempt to besiege the town Dunkerque (see our image nr.11) in the north of France.

Clearly signed and dated - "h-te Bellangé 1833" - it is a typical work of well-known French military artist of the 1st half of the 19th century, Hippolyte Bellange. Moreover, we are certain that this work stems from Bellange's (published in 1833) suite called "Military memories of the Republic, the Consulate and the Empire" (for comparison, see our web).

Hippolyte (Joseph-Louis-Hippolyte) Bellange (1800 Paris - 1866 Paris) began his art studies at the age of 16 in the studio of Jean-Antoine Gros (there he made acquaintance with his friend Nicolas-Toussant Charlet). In 1818 he became a member of Parisian École des Beaux-Arts, in 1824 he obtained a Medal of 2nd degree there. In 1834 he became Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, in 1861 - Chevalier of Belgian Order of Leopold. From 1837 to 1854 Bellange was conservator of the Rouen Museum.
At the urging of Charlet, Bellange first turned to lithography (in total he made over 500 works in this technique). Progressively he turned to oil paintings, most of all specializing on military scenes. With growing success of these paintings he lost interest in lithography, after 1834 there are only few works in this technique.
Works of this artist can be seen in most important French and international museums (a.o. in the Louvre and Versailles).

Provenance: private collection, region Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France