The ruins of the Tuileries
Compiègne, musée du Second Empire
This painting eloquently sums up the historical events of 1870 and 1871: the fall of the Second Empire, the siege of Paris and the Commune. Passing in front of the burnt out shell of Tuileries Palace which had been set fire to during the «semaine sanglante», Meissonier was struck particularly by the state of the Salle des Maréchaux. There amongst the remains of the truncated gilt inscriptions he could pick out: «gleaming, intact, the names of the two clear victories …Marengo!…Austerlitz! ». A completely apocalyptic vision, the picture shows the destruction of the official residence of the kings and emperor of France. Looking through the gutted building, the viewer can see in the distance the chariot on top of the triumphal Arc du Carrousel. «It is Victory in her chariot leaving, abandoning us».