The Execution of Major Davel
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “The Execution of Major Davel” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
This painting shows an important event for the history of the Vaudois canton and the city of Lausanne: the execution of Major Davel, who was instrumental in the liberation of the canton from its subjection to Bern. The most famous version of this subject was executed by Charles Gleyre (1806-1874) for the Museum of Lausanne and delivered in 1850 (formerly in Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne; destroyed in 1980). However Gleyre chose not to paint the execution itself but the moment just before. The present composition borrows the main figures of Gleyre's version: the two ministers on the right hand-side and the executioner on the right. This work combined a scene of execution, particularly popular in the 19th century, with a subject from the Swiss history, a much favoured thematic of the time in Switzerland.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1617-1869
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
