Year 1856 Artist Édouard Dubufe | Type Oil on canvas Created 1856 | |
 | ||
Location Museum of the History of France | ||
The Congress Paris, French: Le Congrès de Paris is an oil painting, created on 1856 by the French painter Edouard Dubufe. It is exhibited at the Palace of Versailles. The painting depicts a meeting held in Paris between February 25 and March 30, 1856 to end the Crimean War.
Contents
History
The Crimean War saw the alliance formed by the British Empire and the Second French Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia against the Russian Empire to check the expansion of Russia and counter its growing influence in the Balkans. It was fought between October 1853 and February 1856. After several battles such as the siege of Sevastopol, Battle of Balaklava or battle of Inkerman, and the Russian defeat, the belligerents met in Paris to sign the peace treaty ending the conflict: the Treaty of Paris.
Description
The painting measures 308 x 510 cm. It shows the plenipotentiaries of the states involved in the conflict, and a representative of Prussia, who, although not involved in the conflict, was invited to conversations. It is in the collection of the Museum of the History of France.
Analysis
The people represented in the table are: (first row left to right) Aleksei Feodorovich Orlov, Karl Ferdinand von Buol, Henry Wellesley, Camillo Benso di Cavour, (second row left to right) Mehmed Emin Aali Pasha, George Villiers, Vincent Benedetti, Mehemmed Djemil Bey, Alexandre Colonna-Walewski, Edwin von Manteuffel, Joseph Alexander Hübner, François-Adolphe de Bourqueney.