Eugene Bataille a curator at work

Except for Pierre de Nolhac, relatively little is known about the lives and careers of the oldest curators of the castle, particularly those from the 19th century. Eugène Bataille (1817-1882), whose self-portrait the museum acquired in 2020, is no exception to this oversight. However, his role within the institution deserves to be illuminated, as does his work as a painter.

By Claire Bonnotte Khelil, scientific collaborator at the Palace of Versailles

Antonin-Amédée-Eugène Battaille was born in Granville in 1817. Originally from Versailles, his father was an assistant surgeon to the Legion of Seine-et-Oise after a prestigious career having taken him from the Austrian campaign to that of Russia. He was in garrison in Normandy at the time of the birth of his son and left the army two years later to set up as a doctor in his hometown, accompanied by his family.

The choice of arts

Contrary to the aspirations of his father, who has almost the same name as him, Eugène Battaille embraced an artistic career, after starting medical studies. He trained with two painters from Versailles, Antoine-Félix Boisselier and Ferdinand Wachsmuth, as well as with Léon Cogniet. Although he favors history painting, the young man also experiments with other avenues, such as genre painting but also decorative arts, and the field of illustration. For his first participation in the Salon in 1843, the young man of twenty-five presented a painting inspired by Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, entitled The Engagement of Master Pierre Gringoire. He married at the end of 1840 and his wife, Marie-Pauline Moriette, gave birth to a daughter shortly after, named Eugénie Émilie.

Despite fairly regular participation in the Salon, Eugène Bataille struggles to have his talents recognized. In 1844, he exhibited two new paintings, including Une Sainte Famille, for which he did not hesitate to write directly to the Queen of the French Marie-Amélie so that she would encourage their acquisition: “Today, Madam, I dare to humbly call upon this request, the august support that Your Majesty is so generously pleased to grant to the arts which are devoted to Religion, encouragement which will be doubly precious to me both as a painter and as a family man. From the heart of the artist will rise towards Your Majesty a recognition equal to the benefit that will have descended on him. » If we do not know the response of Louis-Philippe's wife to this day, this gesture by the artist testifies to a certain impatience following his first disappointments. Criticism hardly spared him, as on the occasion of the Versailles salon held at the Salle du Jeu de Paume in the summer of 1848. In reaction to a criticism addressed to him in Le Courrier Républicain, Eugène Battaille singled out the entrance to the exhibition said newspaper, on which he draws a donkey for the author of the controversial lines. His provocation, which amused the public, attracted the wrath of the local press, denouncing his impropriety and speculating about the definitive end of his career. “His talent, long in agony, is dead today,” the columnist of the Journal de Seine-et-Oise scathingly concludes, accusing him of not even knowing how to draw a donkey…

At the service of the museum

As terse and disastrous as it may be, the omen does not seem to come true and Eugène Bataille, without being discouraged, presents two paintings at the same salon the following year. However, it was probably at that moment that the painter gave up an academic career and decided to knock on the door of the great Museum of French History, where he began to make copies of paintings. Thanks to the change of regime, Eugène Battaille saw the opportunity to become chief curator of objects of art, the position of which had been vacant for several years. In January 1852, he requested from the Minister of the Interior “the favor of being designated to fulfill his functions”. In a letter he addressed to Charles Blanc, the artist justified the legitimacy of his approach by his origins and his previous work: “Child of Versailles, I spent my youth in this palace: it is you say how nothing is foreign to me. As a painter, I have exhibited constantly for ten years: this is, I hope at least, to demonstrate artistic knowledge about the job I am applying for. » His candidacy benefited from the effective mediation of Jean-Gilbert Victor Fialin, Duke of Persigny, close to Emperor Napoleon III, whom his father had treated shortly before. With the support of this fervent Bonapartist, the applicant won his case. From July 1, 1852, he was appointed attaché or “deputy” in the conservation department of the Versailles Museum and thus became one of the closest collaborators of Eudore Soulié, who had headed the department for two years.

But the implementation of this appointment, clearly carried out in haste, is not done without some difficulties. Eugène Bataille openly complained about this to Count Émilien de Nieuwerkerke, then director general of the museums: “By coming immediately to Versailles, by your order, to occupy the functions to which the goodwill of Mr. Minister appointed me, I had to [ sic] give up the work I had in Paris and cut short, in this way, the resources that are exhausted today. I will, within a few days, be forced to leave the apartment I occupied in Paris; the one that I was able to occupy temporarily at Versailles, at my father's house, is missing today. I am therefore threatened, in a very short time, of finding myself, after two months of waiting, without money, without housing, without work. » After a few adjustments, the artist first obtained accommodation in the northern ministers' wing, then in the opposite wing. He can then get on with his new duties and his desire to fill gaps in the museum, undermined by the movement of a certain number of portraits of marshals to the Tuileries Palace. It is for this purpose that he notably executed the copy of the portrait of Michel Ney, based on the original by Jérôme-Martin Langlois.

A dual career

The stability and advantages offered by his new status allowed him to continue his activity as a painter while working within the castle. The same year he obtained this job at the museum, the emperor bought one of his paintings representing Saint Madeleine in prayer. Strengthened by this situation, Eugène Bataille founded the Society of Friends of the Arts of Seine-et-Oise in 1854, of which he wrote the statutes and of which he remained throughout his life not only a particularly active member but also a regular exhibitor. Continuing his work as a copyist, in 1856 he painted his self-portrait which he presented at the Salon the following year. Well received by critics, this painting testifies to the confidence taken by its author and the affirmation of his talent.

His father, who had worked for several years as a doctor at the civil hospital of Versailles, was appointed doctor to the palaces of Versailles and Trianon in 1859, replacing Mr. Thibault, which also helped to establish his authority. In addition, another member of his family, the baritone Charles-Amable Battaille, whom Eugène portrayed in the role of Peter I, met with enormous success at the Opéra-Comique, while teaching at the Versailles Conservatory.

However, dissensions with Count Émilien de Nieuwerkerke then seemed to slow down the rise - or the overly marked ambition? − of the artist. The intendant of fine arts of the Household of the Emperor disputes that the acquisition of the works of Eugène Bataille could be favored by his administration. In 1861 when the artist sought to sell a decorative panel representing Spring, Nieuwerkerke opposed it, invoking the "advantages" already "attached to his functions": Battaille did not justify "a need to sell his paintings as truly pressing as that of a multitude of artists [...] and I can add to this reason another no less decisive one, which is that very recently, and on my recommendation, S[a] M[ajes]té was kind enough to buy works by Mr. Bat[t]aille’s daughter. » Exhibiting under the name “Mlle Suzanne Battaille”, Eugénie, in turn, enjoyed a growing reputation thanks to her skills as a porcelain painter. Very present at the Salon des amis des arts de Seine-et-Oise, the young miniaturist taught in Versailles before opening a drawing school in Paris, under the patronage of the City of Paris.

At the dawn of the 1860s, Eugène Battaille undoubtedly reached the peak of his career, flourishing in his multiple responsibilities. In 1865, his two paintings presented at the Salon, The Poacher's Shot and The Gendarme's Shot, were acquired by the Fine Arts administration and then "given by the emperor" to decorate the gendarmerie mess. of the Guard of Versailles. The artist was also entrusted with the execution of several over-doors for the prefecture hotel. The following year, he published his first work entitled The Role and Importance of Imitation in the Arts, reproducing one of the conferences he gave at the Versailles town hall. Although his name does not appear in the catalog of the famous Petit Trianon exhibition dedicated to Marie-Antoinette, organized in 1867 under the aegis of Empress Eugénie, he was nevertheless entrusted with a copy of the portrait of the queen by Adolf -Ulrich Wertmüller, which was borrowed from the National Museum in Stockholm. This operation monopolized Battaille for several weeks because "this portrait is full of meticulously executed details which make this work very long", as the artist quickly noted, who requested additional time before having the original painting re-shipped.

At the heart of the drama

It was in this particularly happy context that Eugène Battaille lost his only daughter on March 26, 1869. The twenty-seven-year-old young woman, also the mother of a little girl, died at 6 a.m. in the home of his parents in the south ministers' wing. This terrible disappearance sounds like the death knell of a particularly fruitful period for both the man and the artist. If one of his works, entitled The Three Steps of Pink Marble, was purchased by the Fine Arts administration at the Salon of 1870, the political events of the following months would considerably destabilize Eugène Battaille's life. The disaster of the Franco-Prussian War, followed by the fall of the Empire and the occupation of Versailles, forced him to make many adaptations. With a large part of the museum's galleries being converted into a military hospital, Bataille himself changed his profession in a way by assisting his father, an honorary doctor since 1866, in his activities throughout this period. Requisitioned by the Prussians, his office within the castle was occupied for the benefit of two German painters, first Georg Bleibtreu and then Anton von Werner.

In the spring of 1871, as the Prussians began to leave Versailles, the tragedy of the Commune occurred. Although we know relatively little about his activities during the weeks of the Parisian uprising, the artist left an unprecedented visual testimony of the confinement of prisoners in the orangery. Five watercolors now kept at the Lambinet museum allow us to better visualize how the Communards were “parked” in this place, transformed into a prison during the summer. The orange tree crates, emptied of their contents, were used to demarcate a prison space, guarded by the soldiers of Adolphe Thiers' “Versailles army”.

If the change of regime is not fatal to the career of Eugène Bataille, let us recognize that it is not entirely favorable to him. From the fall of 1871, he lost his accommodation in the southern ministers' wing almost overnight for the benefit of ministerial services. He was therefore forced to find an apartment in the city and from that date received financial compensation. compensatory, retaining only his professional office at the castle. Added to these disappointments are new disappearances of loved ones, first his mother on November 28, followed by that of his former protector Jean-Gilbert Victor Fialin, Duke of Persigny, and Charles-Aimable Battaille.

Fifty-four years old, the curator has not benefited from any advancement since joining the museum in 1852 and is demanding the rank of assistant curator. On September 11, 1872, he pleaded his case to Frédéric Villot, secretary general of the national museums. Eudore Soulié, himself late formalized as a curator in the title, fully supports his approach, affirming: "I can only recognize how well-founded Mr. Battaille's request is after twenty years of service which have not brought him any honorary distinctions, nor salary increases. » Presumably supported by Adolphe Thiers, the artist won his case the following year. Although he no longer participates in exhibitions in the capital, Eugène Battaille continues to invest in those of the Society of Friends of the Arts of Seine-et-Oise, while gradually taking on the workload of Eudore Soulié, victim health problems.

The end of a life

Only a few days after the death of the curator on May 29, 1876, Louis Clément de Ris was called upon to succeed him, while retaining Battaille as his deputy. Fortunately, the two men got along particularly well and this friendship undoubtedly played a big role in the last years of the latter's life, still marked by a series of bereavements. In May 1877, he buried his father surrounded by a large part of the castle staff, and then his wife the following year.

Two years later, Louis Clément de Ris took steps to have him awarded the Legion of Honor, justifying it by the achievements of his career: “This distinction would be the reward for the long services rendered by Mr. Battaille in his functions at the Museum, and the exceptional services he rendered during the German occupation during the War of 1870." But this request does not seem to have been successful with the authorities concerned. Despite these multiple setbacks of fate, Eugène Battaille donated to the museum a plaster representing the Montgolfier brothers, sculpted after Jean-Antoine Houdon. In the fall of 1881, he enjoyed the pleasure of being able to contemplate the Versailles Salon exhibition, which he had supported so much, within the castle itself, which undoubtedly marks a personal consecration. Bedridden for six weeks due to a "chest illness", he died on March 27, 1882, at the age of sixty-five, a few months before the disappearance of his friend Louis Clément de Ris. Buried in the Notre Dame cemetery, he leaves behind only his granddaughter Pauline Billot, designated as the one and only heir to his property, in particular the numerous paintings resulting from his production.

A lover of Versailles, Eugène Bataille was inspired by the place throughout his life to nourish his work, initiating a pictorial movement that flourished in the following decades. In parallel with his activities at the museum, it is important to better understand what his artistic production may have been, which deserves not to be reduced to his copies of portraits, undoubtedly less skillful than his creations... called today to be rediscovered.

An identifiable style

“Mr. Eugène Bataille, sub-curator at the Historical Museum, had exhibited two paintings, but we only saw one, a portrait which does the greatest honor to his brushes; drawing, firmness of touch, careful execution, everything comes together in this beautiful painting, the perfect resemblance of which is not one of the least merits: this is how on our first excursion we have, just in passing by, recognized the author. »

A beautiful season

“[…] It was a splendid season at our Versailles. As well as hosts and hostesses at our museum. Everyone worked in these large cool rooms in the shade during the heat and walked in the evening in the beautiful paths of our Park. And this lasted until the last days of October and even a little bit of November. Here are the swallows gone and with them the traveling artists. It's cold, the pools in the park are frozen, the leaves are falling in droves, it's still a splendid sun and nature has admirable tones but it's too cold to risk painting outside [...]. »