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A painting in the royal collection By C. Wilkinson-Latham There are two paintings of The defence of Rorkes Drift, the first by Alphonse de Neuville and the second by Lady Elizabeth Butler.de Neuvilles canvas is by far the more well known, being widely reproduced, but undoubtedly the finer of the two is Elizabeth Butlers which was commissioned by Her Majesty Queen Victoria. On 21st January 1879 number three column of the British invasion force of Zululand, consisting of some 1,200 men had encampedon the slopes of the mountain of Isandhlwana. The next day King Cetewayos warriors attacked and annihilated all but a few of the column.At the end of the battle 4,000 Zulus who had been held in reserve marched on a small mission station at Rorkes Drift, which wasgarrisoned by 84 men of BCompany, 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Bromhead, 36 hospital cases and a few casuals, totalling 141 men. Overall command devolved upon Lieutenant Chard, Royal Engineers, the senior officer present at the post. At 4.30 the Zulu attack started, wave after wave of assegai brandishing natives rushing forward to be repulsed by the massed fire of Martini-Henry rifles in the hands of the defenders and by evening the hospital building was on fire, the dry wood and thatch burning furiously. Two privates, Hook and 612 Williams, of the 24th Regiment kept the hordes at bay while most of the patients escaped through holes that had been knocked in the walls. The attacks continued until approximately 7 a.m. on 23rd January when the beleaguered garrison was relieved. The gallantry of the defenders was recognised by the award of no fewer than eleven Victoria Crosses. On returning to her home in Kent, after exhibiting The Remnants of an Army at the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1879, Elizabeth Butler was visited by Sir Henry Ponsonby, the Keeper of the Queen’s Privy Purse, who asked if she would undertake to paint a picture for the Queen on a subject taken from one of the many stirring campaigns of her reign. She agreed and put forward an idea, which was accepted by her Majesty that the subject shouldbe the finding, by the 17th Lancers, of the body of the Prince Imperial, Louis Napoleon, who had been killed in Zululand on the 1st June 1879while sketching with an advance reconnaissance party. Lady Butler had begun to plan the composition when she received a message from Queen Victoria that she should choose another subject and after much thought she eventually, encouraged by popular sentiment,chose the Defence of Rorkes Drift. The 24th Regiment returned to England after the Zulu War and were stationed at Gosport and it was there that Elizabeth Butler went to make as many sketches from life as she could. The officers and men of the regiment were of great assistanceto her, they even re-enacted the battle in the uniforms they wore in the defence. The work was started but she found great difficulty inpainting the Zulus. Í had them in the composition in dark masses, rather swallowed up in shade. Tradition of London 5a, Shepherd Street. Mayfair, London W1J 7HW. England Telephone +44 0 20 7493 7452 Fax +44 0 20 7355 1224 Email shop@traditionoflondon.comWebsite www.traditionoflondon.com |