A 155-year-old drawing of the Battle of Waterloo by Cork-born artist Daniel Maclise is being exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, after spending over 40 years in storage.
The beautifully preserved cartoon - The Meeting of Wellington and Blücher after the Battle of Waterloo – is being displayed, to coincide with the 200th anniversary of one of the most significant battles in British history.
From the Italian ‘cartone’, cartoon means a large sheet of paper.
The conservation process of The Waterloo Cartoon (Photo: Benedict Johnson)Over 13 metres wide, it is one of the largest cartoons in Britain. It was produced in preparation for a prestigious commission at the Royal Gallery in the House of Lords.
Maclise (1809-1870) spent over a year completing the drawing in 1858-59.
It was bought by the Royal Academy in 1870 and was displayed at Burlington House until the 1920s.
The drawing is on display for the first time since 1972.
The conservation process of The Waterloo Cartoon (Photo: Benedict Johnson)Tim Marlow, director of artistic programmes at the Royal Academy of Arts said: “Epic doesn’t begin to describe either Daniel Maclise’s original drawings or the restoration project that The Waterloo Cartoon has just undergone.
“Only by seeing it will anyone fully understand its power, impact and importance.”
Daniel Maclise: The Waterloo Cartoon is at the Royal Academy until January 3.
