The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar

Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox artwork The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar (also called The Sortie made by the Garrison of Gibraltar in the Morning of the 27 November 1781) is a 1789 oil-on-canvas painting by American artist John Trumbull. The painting shows a key point in Gibraltar's history when the Great Siege of Gibraltar was undertaken by the Spanish against the British at Gibraltar in November 1781. The Spanish officer Don Jose de Barboza is being given respect as he lies dying. Although left behind by his own retreating troops, he still unsuccessfully attacked the British troops with chivalry.

Background

The painting is based on a historic battle that took place in Gibraltar on 27 November 1781. The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of American Independence.

Painting

File:The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar3.jpg

The dying Spanish officer José de Barboza

File:The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar, by John Trumbull, 1788, oil on canvas - Cincinnati Art Museum - DSC04581.JPG

In the 1788 version at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Barboza is in a slightly different pose, looking to the right, instead of down.

The painting depicts the events of the night 26 November 1781, when the British Army garrison in Gibraltar made a sudden sortie against Spanish artillery batteries during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. The death of Spanish Army officer José de Barboza is the focal point of the painting. He fell mortally wounded and died near his post, refusing assistance after having been abandoned by his troops. He is portrayed as rejecting the aid of General George Eliott, commander of the British garrison in Gibraltar. In 1782, the siege was lifted, and Trumbull's friend Antonio de Poggi, an artist and dealer based in London who had been in the besieged garrison, told him of an earlier incident, which had occurred in November 1781. This had all the ingredients he sought:

Furthermore, Trumbull had been engaged in a series of paintings based on the American Revolution, which had been criticised in London. He saw the subject of the Siege as one with which he could demonstrate that he supported British heroism as well:

Trumbull laboured on the composition, over many sketches and three large completed canvases. As the project progressed, Trumbull's ambitions for it to be his big breakthrough to major patronage grew too. He refused large offers for the picture, preferring to exhibit it privately for admission fees.

Horace Walpole called the painting:

The painting is depicted on the back of the 2010 Gibraltar 10-pound note. The prominent individuals highlighted in this composition are the dying Barboza and to his right, from left to right: George Mackenzie, Eliott, George Koehler, Roger Curtis and Thomas Trigge.

See also

• The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, September 1782, painting by John Singleton Copley