Artwork
Barricade, the Paris Commune, May 1871
Barricade, the Paris Commune, May 1871 is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist André Devambez. It dates from 1911 and is held in the collection of the Palace of Versailles.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work’s iconography centers on the barricade as both a practical defense and a political statement, evoking the Commune’s ideal of popular sovereignty.
The painting depicts a barricade built during the Paris Commune in May 1871, a pivotal moment of urban insurrection in which Parisians constructed makeshift defensive barriers from paving stones, furniture, and other urban detritus to resist government forces. Devambez portrays a scene of armed confrontation in a narrow Parisian street, where figures cluster behind the barricade, their postures and gestures conveying tension and resolve. The composition emphasizes the barricade itself, not merely as a physical obstruction but as a potent symbol of collective resistance and the temporary seizure of public space by insurgents.
The work’s iconography centers on the barricade as both a practical defense and a political statement, evoking the Commune’s ideal of popular sovereignty. The inclusion of weapons and the clustering of figures behind the barrier underscore the communal effort to defend territory against external forces, while the urban setting situates the conflict within the lived environment of Paris.
Technique & Style
André Devambez executed Barricade, the Paris Commune, May 1871 in 1911 using oil paint applied to a canvas support. The work measures 140 cm in height and 107 cm in width, classifying it as a history painting. While the specific brushwork or surface condition is not detailed in the available records, the medium and dimensions indicate a substantial, traditional oil-on-canvas composition intended for museum display.
The painting is currently held by the Museum of the History of France at the Palace of Versailles.
History & Provenance
André Devambez created Barricade, the Paris Commune, May 1871 in 1911, executing the history painting in oil on canvas. The artwork measures 140.0 by 107.0 centimeters. It is held in the collection of the Museum of the History of France at the Palace of Versailles, where it is assigned the inventory number MV 6257.
The painting is held by the Musée national des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, the institution that houses the collections of the Museum of the History of France at the Palace of Versailles. Its inventory number is MV 6257, recorded in the French national Joconde database of museum collections.
The work was accessioned under the title "La Barricade, Commune de Paris. Mai 1871," with the artist André Devambez (Paris, 1867 – Paris, 1944) identified as the creator. No exhibition history beyond its placement in the Versailles museum's collections is documented in the available sources.
Overview
André Devambez’s 1911 oil painting Barricade, the Paris Commune, May 1871 portrays a street barricade in Paris during the 1871 Commune uprising. Executed in a post‑Impressionist style, the work captures a moment of urban unrest with a densely packed crowd surrounding a heap of rubble, illuminated by uneven light that highlights the tension of the scene.
Context
The piece reflects Devambez’s broader fascination with dramatic urban scenes, situating the Paris Commune within a visual narrative of the city’s turbulent history. By rendering the barricade in a post‑Impressionist idiom, the painting bridges historical documentation with the expressive possibilities of early twentieth‑century French art.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
André Victor Édouard Devambez (26 May 1867 – 18 March 1944) was a French painter and illustrator.
- At the Feet of the Saviour', Slaughter of the Jews in the Middle Ages
Study for a Battle Scene
The Company of Saint Barbara
Levy in Mass
La gloria del pueblo
On the way to exile (Convicts on the way to Siberia)
Cervantes y sus modelos
Warsaw on 8 April 1861
Fire of a manor house near Miechów
Episode of the September Days 1830, on the Grand Place of Brussels
Frederick the Great at Lissa: Bonsoir, Messieurs
Combate heroico en el púlpito de la iglesia de San Agustín de Zaragoza en el segundo sitio de 1809
