The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar

The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar
Artist	John Trumbull
Year	1789
Medium	Oil-on-canvas
Dimensions	180.3 cm × 271.8 cm (71 in × 107 in)
Location	Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar (also called The Sortie made by the Garrison of Gibraltar in the Morning of the 27 of November 1781^[1]) 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.^[2] 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.^[2]

The painting is based on a historic battle that took place in Gibraltar on November 27, 1781.^[3] 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.

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.^[4] The death of Spanish Army officer José de Barboza is the focal point of the painting.^[4] He fell mortally wounded and died near his post, refusing assistance after having been abandoned by his troops.^[4] He is portrayed as rejecting the aid of General George Eliott, commander of the British garrison in Gibraltar.^[4] 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.^[5] This had all the ingredients he sought:

...the Heroism of the vanquished, the Humanity of the Victors - the darkness of night illuminating an extensive conflagration - the Hurry and Tumult of the troops busy in the work of destruction - the quiet & calm of the Officers, the guiding Spirits of the Scene.^[5]

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

...and as I knew by painting them [his American history paintings], I had given offense to some extra-patriotic people in England, I now resolved to exert my utmost talent upon the Gibraltar, to show that noble and generous actions, by whomsoever performed, were the objects to whose celebration I meant to devote myself.^[6]

Trumbull labored on the composition, over many sketches and three large completed canvases.^[5] As the project progressed, Trumbull's ambitions for it to be his big breakthrough to major patronage grew too.^[5] He refused large offers for the picture, preferring to exhibit it privately for admission fees.^[5]

Horace Walpole called the painting:

the finest picture [he] had ever seen painted on the northern side of the Alps.^[5]

The painting is depicted on the back of the 2010 Gibraltar 10-pound note.^[7] 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.^[8]

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar.

• Bond, Peter (2003). "Gibraltar's Finest Hour The Great Siege 1779-1783". 300 Years of British Gibraltar 1704-2004 (1st ed.). Gibraltar: Peter-Tan Publishing Co. pp. 28–29.