Siege of Yorktown

What it is

This large history painting by Auguste Couder, dated 1836, depicts the siege of Yorktown during the American Revolutionary War. It is held by the Musée de l'Histoire de France in Versailles.

Why it matters

The painting shows the commanders of the Yorktown campaign — including Rochambeau, Washington, Lafayette, Saint-Simon, and the Duke of Lauzun — gathered before the climactic siege that sealed American independence. Painted decades later during the July Monarchy, shortly after Lafayette's death, it reflects how France chose to remember his role in American history and celebrate the French-American alliance.

Why it matters

Look closer

• Why might the painter have grouped the commanders in this way, with one figure pointing and another studying a document?
• What does the choice to paint this scene decades after the event, in Versailles, tell us about how history gets remembered and shaped?
• Whose perspective is missing from this grand depiction of the siege?