文久３年(１８６３年)、長州藩の外国船砲撃に対し列強各国が報復に出ました。絵は、報復攻撃を行うフランス艦隊の様子です。左からフランス東洋艦隊の旗艦セミラミス(フリゲート)とタンクレード(スループ)です。長州藩の壇ノ浦、前田両砲台を猛砲撃の後、陸戦隊を上陸させ砲台を制圧しました。

当時の前田砲台の近くの草葉の陰から戦闘の模様を覗き見ているイメージで描きました。しかし資料※によると両艦の位置関係が実際には絵とは逆のようです。

※幕末長州の攘夷戦争 古川薫著 中公新書

アクリル キャンバス F４

In 1863, the great powers retaliated against the Choshu clan's bombardment of foreign ships. The painting shows a French fleet carrying out a retaliatory attack. From the left are the flagships of the French Oriental Fleet, Semiramis (frigate), and Tancred (sloop). After a fierce bombardment of the Choshu clan's Dannoura and Maeda batteries, a naval force was landed and took control of the batteries.

This painting was inspired by the image of someone peering at the battle from behind the leaves of grass near the Maeda battery at the time. However, according to sources*, the relative positions of the two ships are actually the opposite to that in the painting.

*Choshu's Anti-Foreign War in the Late Edo Period, by Furukawa Kaoru, Chuokoron Shinsho,

acrylic on canvas, F4