The battles of the Meuse

Alfred BASTIEN

Born in 1873 in Ixelles, Alfred BASTIEN was the eighth child of a modest family. Affected at a very young age by the premature deaths of his sister, brother and mother, Alfred left the family home to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, then at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels.

Alfred Bastien

In October 1914, a few weeks after the start of the war, Bastien takes himself off to England, later joining up as a war volunteer in 1915.

In 1916 he is assigned to the arts section of the Belgian army and is seconded, in 1918, to the Canadian army. During those long months he paints numerous war scenes, both in Belgium and in France. Beginning at this time, the artist establishes close contacts with the Royal family, whom he meets on several occasions.

Throughout his life, Alfred BASTIEN sought to share his passion for art and painting, both as a teacher, then as Director of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels.

A committed pacifist, he was also known for his political commitment, in particular with the Belgian Communist Party. Alfred BASTIEN died on 7th June 1955.

ALFRED BASTIEN - June 1918
major Georges P.Vanier
Library and Archives Canada pencil sketch / Creative Commons

HISTORY OF PANORAMAS AND DIORAMAS

Immense paintings illustrating landscapes often depicting scenes from history, panoramas and dioramas are a spectacular and immersive form of art whose golden age was the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. Technically, panoramas differ from dioramas in that the former offer viewers a 360° view while the latter are flat or slightly curved paintings.
Invented in 1787 by the Scottish painter Robert BARKER, the panorama is a vast circular painting displayed in a rotunda so that the visitor, viewing it from a platform in the centre of the panorama can survey the painting on all sides from every angle.
The feeling of trompe‑l’œil is heightened further by overhead lighting concealed by a canopy.

Robert BARKER, 1787, the first panorama / Creative Commons

Picture : Ferditje / Creative Commons

HISTORY OF PANORAMAS AND DIORAMAS (continued)

Often enhanced by elements positioned in the foreground of the painting (figures, objects, plants, painted sets, etc.), the panorama (and hence also the diorama) is designed to create the illusion of being in the very centre of the action or scene depicted.
As forerunners of the cinema, both in terms of dimensions and the care taken by the artist to immerse the viewer in a story or scene that is completely different, the panorama and the diorama very quickly enjoyed significant success in Europe and North America. Early examples usually depicted panoramic urban scenes, enabling viewers to discover foreign or idealised cities.
Then, from the 19th century onwards, the subjects began to diversify. The theme of war was taken up by a number of artists, often as part of propaganda exercises for European nations. The exotic also gains the public’s interest. It was the golden age of colonialism and European viewers were keen to discover landscapes from Africa and far‑off America. The rise of the cinema between the wars saw the gradual decline in this form of art. It had remained popular for a long period of time and is seeing interest rekindled today among numerous creative artists around the world.

Franz ROUBAUD - Panorama of the battle of Borodino in 1812

Photo: Dennis Jarvis / Creative Commons

THE DIORAMA BY ALFRED BASTIEN
THE PICTORIAL APPROACH

Monumental in size, the painting by Alfred BASTIEN depicts a bird’s eye view of the banks of the Meuse. To the extreme left is the area of Liège, with its hills and strongholds. Then comes the tragic defence of Namur and environs: the city, on fire in several places, is shown in flames in the background, while in the foreground we see Belgian and French troops leaving Namur and beginning the retreat ordered by General Michel.
The painting tells a story, depicting the early days of the German invasion, from the carefree atmosphere of the harvest to the sad spectacle of the dead tree, foretelling the terrible carnage to come.

THE DIORAMA BY ALFRED BASTIEN
THE PICTORIAL APPROACH

Close up, the brushstrokes appear relatively coarse, but the work needs to be viewed from a certain distance, as do all dioramas and panoramas.
Stepping back a few paces enables the viewer to appreciate how well Alfred BASTIEN masters his painting technique.

The depth of field, between the curve of the Meuse, the hills in the distance and the dead tree, which alone dominates this side of the river, gives viewers the impression of approaching the picture as if to contemplate the scene of desolation on the far bank.

Looking at the painting more closely, the artist’s technical mastery becomes clear, especially in the method he adopts for painting water, earth and sky. The smoke rising from the hills gives the impression of becoming lost in the tormented sky, while at the foot of the Dinant Citadel, the flames ravaging the collegiate church are reflected in the waters of the Meuse.

By placing the grandiose spectacle of the natural surroundings opposite the catastrophe caused by men and war, Alfred BASTIEN prompts us to think, to consider the consequences of our destructive impulses.

Clearly, this work has a message.

OTHERS WORKS BY THE ARTIST

After his years of studying, spent in Ghent, Brussels and Paris, where he copied the old masters, became caught up in romanticism of Delacroix and the realism of Courbet, as well as coming under the influence of the impressionists, Alfred BASTIEN undertook long journeys in Europe, North Africa, the Belgian Congo, India, Japan, China and the south Pacific islands.

Ghent University Library - Creative Commons

In 1911, at the request of King Albert, the Belgian government commissioned Bastien and Paul Mathieu to paint the Congo Panorama to be displayed at the 1913 Universal International Exposition in Ghent. Illustrating the colony in its most wide and varied aspects, the colourful work was enormously successful.

Ghent University Library - Creative Commons

OTHERS WORKS BY THE ARTIST (continued)

During the war, as official artist of the Belgian army and for a number of months as artist assigned to the Canadian army, Alfred Bastien produced some of his finest works – testimony to the reality of the fighting on the fronts in Belgium and France.

In addition to his war production, Bastien was also a prolific painter who produced an incalculable number of easel paintings depicting landscapes, still life studies, figurative scenes and portraits.

ALFRED BASTIEN - Canadian Cavalry Ready in a Wood
Canadian War Museum / Public domain

OTHERS WORKS BY THE ARTIST (continued)

In 1919 and 1920, he worked with Charly Léonard and Charles Swyncop to paint the Panorama of the Battle of the Yser in 1914, depicting one of the key battles in the early war, with its procession of victims and destruction.

THE PANORMA of the YSER - 1920
sequence of news on the visit of the Belgian Minister of defence at the exhibition of the painter Bastien (1873-1955)
Cinémathèque Royale of Belgium - EFG - The European Film Gateway / Public domain

Panorama of the battle of the Yser
excerpt - fires of the halles of Ypres

THE WRITINGS OF ALFRED BASTIEN

The painter was also a tireless reader and prolific writer.
Throughout his life, in his personal diaries, he recorded his thoughts about the political, everyday and artistic life of his times.
He also maintained an abundant correspondence with numerous personalities of the time. His writings reveal the importance that the diorama of the Battles of the Meuse represents in his eyes.

15th November 1935

“I have begun the first sketches of the Meuse in 1914.”

November 1935

“The rocks at Freyr… by Courbet, with the fluidity of the Meuse that will always pursue me. Ah, good big brother!”

14 February 1936

“The contract for the Panorama of the Battles of the Meuse in 1914 is to be signed. It will be placed in Namur and will very probably mean a major change in our life: the dream of that little house in the Ardennes, close to the Meuse, in the woods… may well come to pass… it would be so good! Insha’allah!”

22 April 1936

“Good day. I have begun the sky, the blue horizons, very fine, very distant… groups of horses. I’m getting my hand in. Forty metres are already done. Each panel ‑ and there are four of them ‑ is 144 metres long.

16 July 1936

“Should I paint the horrors of war or not? Putting decency before horror, it would be no! Because it’s awful. But then you’d have to burn all the Rubens, the Torture scenes ‑ and the Goyas and the Manets. It would be a lie to History and my painting is accurate, a warning”.