The Defence of Rorke's Drift - Jigsaw!

This delightful little distraction was given to me as a Christmas present and initially I stored it away not wanting to open it for fear of devaluing it; must be a collector thing!  Having finally come to my senses I was delighted to find it was one of those 'oh so fashionable' jigsaws where some of the pieces are actually carved to represent objects - wonderful.  Remembering the advice given to me as a small boy I put all the straight edges to one side first and made a separate pile for the sky (too much information?) All this fun and good for the planet too as it is laser cut from Medite, which is a forestry certified wood composite from sustainable sources no less.

 

Made in Great Britain

The Defense of Rorke's Drift by Alphonse de Neuville - 1880 

 

This wonderful painting was created by the French artist Alphonse de Neuville in 1880.  It was originally commissioned by the Fine art Society but was then purchased by the New South Wales Art Gallery in 1881. There is a fascinating lecture transcript produced by the gallery that likens the painting to Ridley Scott's 'Black Hawk Down'.  The artist was renowned for depicting moments of desperation and resolve amongst fighting men rather than the sweeping masses on the battlefield that would be more commonplace for a history painter.  In this case he has chosen the evacuation of the casualties from the burning hospital, but we can also see other notable characters including Surgeon Reynolds bandaging Commissary Dalton's wound in the centre.