The Last of the Garrison by Briton Rivière

In this article

Only the dog remains

A bloodhound lies wounded before a heavy, studded door. Around it, the floor is littered with debris, a broken musket and fragments of battle. The defenders are gone; the dog is the last of the garrison.

Briton Rivière painted The Last of the Garrison in 1875.

A wounded hound

Wounded bloodhound lying before a door — A wounded hound.

The dog lies stretched out, head down, eyes half closed. It has stayed at its post to the end, guarding the door.

OWN IT.

The Last of the Garrison hand-painted oil reproduction

The Last of the Garrison, painted by hand

Briton Rivière · oil on canvas, made to order

$299.00~~$599.00~~50% off

Own this masterpiece See sizes and frames

Painted by hand in oil Free shipping worldwide 90-day money-back guarantee

Real paintings, real brushworkSee what arrives at your doorBrowse all samples

The remains of a fight

Broken musket and debris on the floor — The remains of a fight.

In the foreground lie a broken firearm, scattered papers and rubble. Rivière tells the story of a siege without showing a single human figure.

Questions about The Last of the Garrison

What does it show?

A wounded bloodhound, the last survivor of a defended building.

Who painted it?

Briton Rivière, in 1875.

Why no soldiers?

Rivière told the story through the dog and the debris alone.

What breed is the dog?

A bloodhound.

Sources and image credit

Art UK: Briton Rivière, The Last of the Garrison

Public-domain reproduction of The Last of the Garrison (1875). Detail images are crops of the same image; no reconstruction or upscaling.