Draft:Le Soir de Rezonville, panorama par Edouard Detaille and Alphonse de Neuville

Background
Le Soir de Rezonville panorama was a monumental painting measuring 120 meters in length and 14 meters in height. It depicted a scene from the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, specifically the evening of the Battle of Mars la Tour (for the Prussians) or Rezonville (for the French) on 16 August 1870 from the French side. The painting was commissioned in 1880 by a Belgian company to French military painters Édouard Detaille and Alphonse De Neuville, and was completed in 1883.. .

Panoramas were a popular form of entertainment in the late 19th century, and the Battle of Rezonville panorama was one of the most impressive and well-known examples of this art form.

The financial project
Among a speculative frenzy regarding panoramas in Belgium in 1879-1880, the project was the brainchild of a group of businessmen from Belgium who saw an opportunity to capitalize on the popularity of two of the most renowned French painters of military scenes.

Early 1880, the group approached de Neuville and Detaille separately, proposing a project that would showcase their talents and commemorate the events of the Franco-Prussian War. De Neuville was the first to sign on, with Belgian newspapers advertising opportunities to invest in the exhibition of his paintings. Reproductions of his work were displayed in Brussels to further entice potential investors. Detaille was contacted soon after and agreed to collaborate with de Neuville on the project after a visit to meet with the financiers in Brussels. Together, they agreed to create panoramas for both Paris and Vienna.

The Société Anonyme du Grand Panorama National de Vienne was established by an act on April 20, 1880, published in the Belgian Gazette on May 4, 1880. The company was formed to capitalise on the success of the subscription of the Societe Nationale du Panorama de Paris which was over-subscribed 2000 times and the press echoed the irrational frenzy. The call for subscription for 1,500 shares nominal value of 100 Francs for a price of 200 francs, 50 payable at souscription and 150 at the reception of the share titles. Since the company was registered with a capital of 450,000 francs divided into 4,500 shares of 100 francs each and 4,500 non-nominal value shares, it means that the founders sold one third of the paid-in capital to pay for the subscription of the 3,000 shares they kept. Here is the flow of funds: Hence in paying only 150,000 francs of their own money in the business, the founders retained two third of the paid in capital and all the non-nominal value shares. The founders were Emile Seutin, Leon Seutin, Joseph Duwez, Victor Guders, Eugène and Camille Marlier, Eugène Bero, Charles Van Moorsel, Alfred Brasseur and Julien Michez.

The Realisation
Detaille seems to have been the driving force for choosing the subject of both the Panorama of Champigny and the Panorama of Rezonville. For the first panorama, which was to be exposed in France, political considerations dictated an episode of the republican war, i.e. after the abdication of Napoleon III. As for the second panorama, initially intended to be exhibited in Vienna, Detaille was able to choose a subject that suited him to convey his patriotic and political message. Rezonville on August 16, 1870, was the deadliest battle of the war. The French dominated the day but did not exploit their advantage. Marshal Bazaine will bear the responsibility. The marshal, a figure of betrayal in the post-war period, is absent from the panorama and Detaille can thus highlight two figures from his political camp: Canrobert and Bourbaki. The latter, in particular, was the subject of a retirement measure deemed scandalous by the Bonapartist camp in April 1881. Moreover, in May 1882, Detaille resigned with Déroulède from the military education commission in public disagreement with the new supervising minister, Jules Ferry. Therefore, this choice can be seen as a manifestation of a certain political and patriotic opposition to a government that no longer prioritizes Revenge but is embarking on the path of colonialism.

One the subject set, the two painters move on to realisation. In November 1880, the two artists are rumoured to be travelling to Metz for preparatory works. They were accompanied by Mathey and took pictures (now at the Musee de l'Armee and sketches (the Neuville carnets are in the Musee du Louvre).

The two artists proceeded by choosing a viewpoint that corresponds to the platform and photographing all parts of the horizon to adjust them accordingly. They then execute a painting sketch in one-tenth scale, as detailed as possible, and use light photographic projections to reproduce the landscape on the canvas. The canvas and photograph are divided into ten corresponding equal parts, and each photographed part is projected onto the corresponding part of the canvas. The lines drawn by the light projector are traced using charcoal to reproduce the landscape exactly. They surround themselves with a team (including the painter Mathey) to help them paint the landscape, but will reserve the figures for themselves. Unlike other panorama painters, Detaille and de Neuville make direct changes to perspective by eye. The realism remains striking, even for those who participated in the battle. G. Gœtschy recounts a visit to the studio where the Rezonville panorama is held: "''We joined the three visitors and all in single file, we climbed the narrow staircase that led to the platform. Upon reaching it, General Bourbaki, who was leading the procession, could not help but be a little startled. Before him, reproduced in every detail with miraculous accuracy and surprising fidelity, was the battlefield of Rezonville. It was then the turn of his colleagues to marvel after him. They reconstructed, point by point, the story of the battle. De Neuville and Detaille listed, in turn, both the names of the villages and the numbers of the regiments. Not a corner of the vast canvas was out of place, and not the slightest error to be found! The troops maneuvered in their order and the portraits were strikingly similar. For a moment, the cavalry general appeared worried: he was looking for his brigade. De Neuville showed it to him in the distant part of the painting, as large as a hand, exactly where it had been positioned - all the while apologizing with a smile, for not being able to do better, out of respect for the truth"''.

It was rumoured that the painters obtained 150 000 francs for the Bataille de Champigny panorama, which is probably similar to what they got for Rezonville

The Salon of 1884
Detaille will also produce a reduced and slightly amended model of his work for the 1884 Salon. This painting was purchased by Mr Cornelius Vanderbilt and then presented by his widow to the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue

Musee Grevin
In 1887, the Musee Grévin created a group piece featuring the artists Bouguereau, Cabanel, Carolus Daran, Clairin, Jerome, J.-P. Laurens and Vibert, visiting Edouard Detaille completing the panorama Rezonville.

The figures are positioned on the platform of the scaffolding that the artists used to paint the scene, standing out against a background, painted with the help of Edouard Detaille that represents the center piece of the panorama with the houses of the village of Rezonville and the escort of General Bourbaki. The background and figures were not preserved

Vienna
The Panorama of Rezonville was exhibited in Vienna from 1883 to 1887. The building, also known as the Grand Panorama National, was built in 1879 by Ferdinand Dehm and Franz Olbricht on the site of a theater (Hornik-Park, Sommerorpheum) in the courtyard of the building at Praterstrasse 49, by the "Société Anonyme des Panoramas de Vienne". The panoramic rotunda was a sixteen-sided dome structure with a diameter of 39 meters and a height of 29.5 meters. The opening took place on September 28, 1880. In 1886, it was taken over by the "Société Anonyme Austro-Belge des Pan- et Dioramas"

The reception of the Panorama of Rezonville is good in terms of artistic quality, but the nationalist point of view is not without mockery by satirical newspapers: At the panorama

''- First visitor: Ahah, so this is the Battle of Rezonville. Very beautiful. But I see practically only French people. Where are Kaiser Wilhelm, Moltke, Roon, and Bismarck, who won the battle?''

''- Second visitor: According to the French reports of the time, they had already been taken captive... ''

Paris
In 1887, the Panorama de Rezonville is replacing the Bataille de Champigny in the panorama of the rue de Berri de 1887 until 1890. It received a price at the 1889 universal exhibition in Paris

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k130688j/f19.image#

Berlin
It is also exhibited in Berlin from 1893 to 1895 when the liquidation of the company will result in the cut into fragments.

The cut of the canvas
Unlike many other panoramas, which were destroyed after being exhibited, this painting was divided into at least 124 fragments:


 * 115 fragments were sold at an auction held in Galerie Georges Petit on June 16, 1896
 * lot 52 was cut in two after 1903 to separate Marshal Canrobert and General Bourbaki
 * lot 82 was cut in at least two fragments (probably more)
 * lot 94 and 96 seem to have been cut into seven between 1896 and 1898
 * lot 97 was cut in at least three fragments

The 1903 Sale
Another auction was held at the galerie George Petit on June 15, 1903, for certain fragments. The copy of the catalogue of the sale preserved at the Frick collection library indicate the price achieved and the name of the buyer noted by the attendees

Current owners
Although the original painting was dismantled and dispersed, many of its fragments survive and are now held in collections around the world. These fragments continue to be appreciated as works of art and historical artifacts, and serve as a testament to the enduring popularity of the panorama as a form of entertainment.

Forbes Collection
The Forbes Galleries hosted for some time several fragments of the panorama of Champigny and Rezonville but Christopher Forbes decided to sell them in 2012 (Sotheby's New York) and 2016 (Osenat, Fontainebleau).

Musee de l'Armée (Paris)
As part of the ATHENA renovation plan, the Musee de l'Armee created a specific room to display panorama fragments from Rezonville and the Fond de la Giberne, the central piece of the panorama of Champigny.

Musee de la Guerre de 1870 et de l'annexion
Musée de la Guerre de 1870 et de l'Annexion is a museum from the Moselle department, created on the site of the battle of Gravelotte. Re-open in 2014, it gathers the most important collection of fragments of the Panorama. They include fragments purchased before the re-opening and fragments lent by private and public institutions (like the Musee St Remi in Reims and the Ministry of Defense).