Battle of Boyacá

This painting depicts the most crucial battle of the Colombian War of Independence, the Battle of Boyacá, which took place on August 7, 1819, near the city of Tunja.

This confrontation culminated in the victory of the army led by Simón Bolívar and led to the end of Spanish rule over New Granada.

This representation of the Battle of Boyacá was created in 1840, several decades after the event.

It was painted by José María Espinosa Prieto, one of the most important Colombian artists of the 19th century, who portrayed the leading figures of the Independence and depicted several of the battles that took place during the war.

Espinosa places the battle in a typical landscape of the region with the characteristic geography of the high plateau: the mountains in the background and the plain where the confrontation occurred. 

In this painting, the artist captures the noise and movement on the battlefield: the dust rising from the ground from the galloping horses, the smoke from the weapons and cannons, and the hordes of soldiers clashing with each other. 

Espinosa also included multiple details of the confrontation, numbered throughout the canvas.

The description of each detail appears on a banner located at the bottom of the painting. Although most of the text has been lost over time, some elements can still be identified.

The number 1 appears several times in the painting and indicates the presence of the royalist army on the battlefield. The soldiers are uniformed with blue jackets and white trousers, and wave red flags. 

The members of this army don't wear the same attire: few have uniforms, and several are bare-chested or barefoot.

The Patriot army consisted of soldiers from various ethnic backgrounds: creoles, mestizos, indigenous people, and Afro-descendants. This diversity is evident in the men represented by Espinosa.

Many of them joined the troops as they advanced towards Boyacá.

In this detail, Espinosa depicts the violent combat between the two sides: a patriot soldier thrusts his spear into the torso of a royalist soldier who is about to fall from his rearing horse. 

Likewise, in various parts of the canvas, we see the collapsed bodies of those fallen in combat. 

The number three appears only once in the scene and shows the position of Simón Bolívar on the battlefield.

The Liberator is depicted with his arm extended, pointing to the epicenter of the confrontation, a gesture suggesting that he is giving instructions to the high-ranking soldiers following him.

Similarly, other numbers indicate the presence of the generals whose participation was meaningful in this battle.

For example, number 5 corresponds to the Venezuelan general José Antonio Anzoátegui, who led the rear division and was an important member of the liberating army.

In addition to the landscape, Espinosa also depicted a couple of tradicional houses in the foreground. The number 7 identifies the house on the right as the place that served as hospital for the Vanguard division. 

Finally, the number 8 points to a detail that highlights the victory of the army led by Bolívar: a royalist general is taken as prisoner.

In fact, on the same day of the battle, the Spanish general José María Barreiro was captured and later executed along with a large number of his soldiers.

The Battle of Boyacá ended with the defeat of the royalists, who surrendered to the advances of the patriot army. This victory sealed the success of Simón Bolívar's Liberation Campaign.

José María Espinosa's detailed representation not only commemorates this event but also depicts, in an almost documentary manner, the place and individuals involved in this confrontation, the conditions of the battle, and the decisive victory of the patriotic army.