Sir Edwin Henry Landseer

A Dialogue at Waterloo

exhibited 1850

Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)

License this image

Not on display

Artist: Sir Edwin Henry Landseer 1802–1873
Medium: Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions: Support: 1937 x 3880 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Presented by Robert Vernon 1847
Reference: N00415

Display caption

In the nineteenth century, as now, Landseer's fame rested on his ability as a painter of humorous or sentimental animal paintings. However he was also

an accomplished portrait, genre and landscape artist. This painting underlines the seemingly inexhaustible interest in commemorating the Napoleonic Wars. The whimsical scene, invented by the artist, shows Wellington, who was commander-in-chief of the Allied forces, returning to the battlefield of Waterloo with his daughter-in-law. Wellington himself disliked any attempt to paint the battle as he felt such images would inevitably fall short of the event itself.

Gallery label, September 2004

Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? We would like to hear from you.

Explore

history(5,803)
- military(307)
- - Waterloo, Battle, 18 Jun 1815(11)
leisure and pastimes(7,669)
- eating and drinking(747)
- - picnic(67)
- recreational activities(2,861)
- - hunting(165)
  - riding(53)
  - travel / tourism(801)
nature(45,213)
- animals: actions(645)
- - death(72)
- animals: birds(1,271)
- - gamebird(5)
- animals: mammals(4,859)
- - dog - non-specific(1,046)
  - hare(41)
  - horse(1,586)
- landscape(25,912)
- - farmland(367)
objects(23,378)
- agriculture, gardening & fishing(954)
- - plough(69)
- clothing and personal items(5,986)
- - bag(96)
  - pipe(101)
- miscellaneous(738)
- - souvenir(7)
- reading, writing, printed matter(5,151)
- - book - non-specific(1,967)
- vessels and containers(2,162)
- - basket(487)
  - bottle(293)
people(35,142)
- actions: expressive(2,655)
- - pointing(187)
  - talking(610)
- adults(22,736)
- - man(10,497)
  - man, old(388)
  - woman(9,056)
- children(3,423)
- - baby(530)
  - girl(1,121)
- groups(5,207)
- - group(4,270)
- named individuals(12,533)
- - Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of(8)
- portraits(4,470)
- - groups(335)
  - individuals: male(1,965)
places(41,542)
- cities, towns, villages (non-UK)(13,291)
- - Waterloo - non-specific(11)
- countries and continents(17,557)
- - Belgium(584)
society(34,906)
- family(4,136)
- - family(1,065)
- transport: land(2,944)
- - riding(519)
work and occupations(14,164)
- military(1,630)
- - soldier(1,212)
- royalty and social rank(1,833)
- - aristocrat(1,359)
- trading and commercial(1,170)
- - trader(246)

You might like

James Collinson Home Again

1856
Abraham Solomon Waiting for the Verdict

1857
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer Alexander and Diogenes

exhibited 1848
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer Dignity and Impudence

1839
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society

exhibited 1838
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer Deer and Deer Hounds in a Mountain Torrent (‘The Hunted Stag’)

?1832, exhibited 1833
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer A Scene at Abbotsford

exhibited 1827

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Sir John Everett Millais, Bt The Order of Release 1746

1852–3
George Frederic Watts Life’s Illusions

1849
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer Uncle Tom

date not known
Frederick Goodall The Tired Soldier Resting at a Roadside Well

1842, exhibited 1842
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer The Defeat of Comus

1843
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer Low Life

1829, exhibited 1831
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer High Life

1829, exhibited 1831
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer Study of a Lion

c.1862