Mort du député Alphonse Baudin le 3 décembre 1851 1902

Jean-Paul Laurens made this painting of the death of deputy Alphonse Baudin sometime in the 19th century. The umber underpainting gives the whole piece a kind of dark, brooding atmosphere. You can almost smell the gunpowder. Looking closely, the paint application is actually quite loose, and the artist is unafraid to let the underpainting show through, particularly around the edges of the figure and in the background architecture. This makes Baudin’s death seem less like a heroic sacrifice and more like a senseless tragedy. His face is particularly striking. His expression is caught between shock and disbelief as he raises his hand to his head, and the artist leaves this area slightly unresolved, adding to the sense of uncertainty and chaos. This work feels like a precursor to some of the great history paintings of the 20th century, like Picasso’s *Guernica*. Both pieces remind us that history is not just a collection of facts and dates, but a human drama full of emotion, conflict, and ambiguity.