The death of Major Pearson (full name of the painting “Death of Major Pearson, January 6, 1781” by The Death of Major Peirson, January 6, 1781 ) is an oil painting painted in 1783 by John Singleton Copley . The canvas depicts the scene of the death of Major Francis Pearson during the invasion of Jersey on January 6, 1781.
| ||
| John Singleton Copley | ||
| The death of Major Pearson . 1783 | ||
| The Death of Major Peirson, 6 January 1781 | ||
| Oil on canvas . 251 × 365 cm | ||
| Tate Gallery , Jersey Museum and Art Gallery, Jersey | ||
| ( inv. , and ) | ||
The invasion was the last French attempt to capture the island of Jersey and one of the last battles when the troops of a foreign power tried to seize the British territorial possessions in the British Isles. It was organized by the Prince de Montmorency-Luxembourg and the commander of his personal army [2] , known as the Legion de Luxembourg ( fr. Légion de Luxembourg , otherwise - volunteers de Luxembourg ) [3] - lieutenant colonel in the French service of Baron Philippe de Rulcourt with the consent and with the broad support of the French government. The purpose of the invasion was to eliminate the threat to French and American merchant ships from privateers based on an island controlled by Great Britain, with which France was at war at that time.
On the night of January 6, about 1,000 soldiers of the de Luxembourg legion, under the command of Baron de Rulcourt and his deputy Indian military commander Mira Sayyad, landed in La Roque, Grouville , early in the morning occupied the capital of the island of Saint Helier and captured the vice-governor of Moses Corbet in bed. Frightened by the threats of the baron, he ordered his troops to lay down their arms, but most British commanders refused to obey. The senior officer of the island garrison, 24-year-old Major Francis Pearson, who was transferred to the high command after Corbet's capture, gathered about 2,000 soldiers and launched a counterattack, during which he himself was killed and Baron de Rulcourt was mortally wounded (which is also shown in the background of the canvas). Despite the loss of commanders on both sides, the superior numbers of British troops forced the French landing to surrender - the invasion ended in complete failure.
Fragment of the background of the canvas.
By order of Copley, a successful London engraver and publisher John Boydell created engravings reproducing the painting “Death of Major Pearson,” which contributed to its popularization and wide recognition. Although Major Pearson was killed at an early stage of the battle, on the canvas he is captured by the perishing on the final victorious scene in order to emphasize his heroic and decisive role in repelling the attack. Pearson became a British national hero.
Tate Gallery acquired the painting in 1864. The original painting belongs to the London Gallery and is in the long-term lease of the Jersey Art Gallery. The painting "The death of Major Pearson" is reproduced on a 10-pound Jersey banknote.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/copley-the-death-of-major-peirson-6-january-1781-n00733
- ↑ Rev. Alban E. Ragg, 1895 .
- ↑ James A. Lewis, 1999 , p. 22.
Links
Literature
- Rev. Alban E. Ragg. A Popular History of Jersey: [ eng. ] . - Jersey: Walter Guiton, 1895. - Chapter 22: Battle of Jersey 1 - The landing .
- James A. Lewis. Neptune's Militia : The Frigate South Carolina During the American Revolution: [ eng. ] . - illustrated. - Kent, OH, USA: Kent State University Press, 1999 .-- 235 p. - Studies in maritime history. - ISBN 0-87338-632-9 .
- The English school ; G. Hamilton; Charles Tilt, 1833; p. 193-5
- Empires of the Imagination: Politics, War, and the Arts in the British World, 1750-1850 ; Holger Hoock; Profile Books, 2010; ISBN 1-86197-859-6 , p. 94-6
Sources
- The Death of Major Peirson, 6 January 1781 , Tate Gallery
- John Singleton Copley in America , a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on the painting (fig. 10)