Artwork
Battle of Hoff, February 6, 1807
Battle of Hoff, February 6, 1807 is an oil painting by Jean-Charles Langlois. It dates from 1849 and is held in the collection of the Palace of Versailles.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition features cavalry charges, cannons, and the conflagration of a burning structure, likely a cabana, set against a snow-covered plain.
Jean-Charles Langlois's 1849 history painting, Battle of Hoff, February 6, 1807, depicts the chaotic violence of the Napoleonic conflict through a dense arrangement of specific battlefield elements. The composition features cavalry charges, cannons, and the conflagration of a burning structure, likely a cabana, set against a snow-covered plain. The scene emphasizes the brutality of war by including fallen corpses amidst the active combat and smoke.
As a work exhibited at the Salon of 1849, the piece functions as a historical record of the engagement, utilizing the genre of history painting to memorialize the specific events of February 6, 1807, rather than offering abstract allegory.
Technique & Style
The Battle of Hoff, February 6, 1807 is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard support for mid-nineteenth-century French history painting. The composition measures 113.0 cm in height by 152.0 cm in width, giving it a horizontal format suited to its panoramic battle subject.
Stylistically, the work belongs to the genre of history painting and was shown at the Salon of 1849. The depicted scene brings together multiple elements, a cabana, corpse, cannon, cavalry, charge, conflagration, snow, and plain, suggesting a layered treatment of combat across a snow-covered landscape, with figures, animals, and architectural features arranged to convey the disorder of a Napoleonic-era engagement. The handling of oil on canvas would have allowed Langlois to model the dynamic interplay of cavalry charges, burning structures, and winter atmosphere typical of large-scale military subjects of the period.
History & Provenance
Battle of Hoff, February 6, 1807 is an oil painting by Jean-Charles Langlois created in 1849 and first shown at the Salon of 1849. The work entered the collection of the Museum of the History of France at the Palace of Versailles, where it remains on display as inventory number MV 1729 / INV 5624 / MN 24. Its provenance traces directly from the artist's studio to the French state, which acquired it for the national collection shortly after the 1849 exhibition.
The Battle of Hoff, February 6, 1807 is held in the Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon in Versailles, which also houses the Museum of the History of France. Its Joconde record lists three inventory numbers: MV 1729, INV 5624 and MN 24. The painting was first presented to the public at the Salon of 1849, where it was exhibited as a contemporary history work. It remains part of the museum’s permanent collection and is occasionally loaned for special exhibitions.
Overview
Jean‑Charles Langlois, a former French officer who later pursued painting and photography, created an oil work in 1849 that records the Battle of Hoff fought on 6 February 1807. Classified as a history painting, the canvas captures a moment of intense combat, featuring a burning structure, artillery, and a cavalry charge. The piece is part of the permanent collection at the Palace of Versailles.
Context
The Battle of Hoff was a lesser‑known engagement during the War of the Fourth Coalition, involving French forces against Russian and Prussian troops. Langlois’s choice to portray the episode aligns with the 19th‑century French tradition of commemorating military exploits in grand narrative paintings, serving both documentary and patriotic functions within the visual culture of the era.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jean-Charles Langlois (French pronunciation:; 22 July 1789 – 1870), known as The Colonel, was a French soldier, painter and photographer.
