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Unseen Waterloo: The Conflict Revisited is a compelling book by Sam Faulkner, published to accompany his photography exhibition of the same name at Somerset House, held to mark the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo in 2015.
Beginning in 2009, award-winning photographer Sam Faulkner attended the annual Waterloo re-enactment in Belgium, where he photographed participants in historically accurate uniforms, painstakingly recreated for the event. From his pop-up studio on the battlefield, Faulkner captured striking, painterly portraits that evoke the forgotten faces of the conflict. His work reimagines moments of triumph, hope, and loss, offering a perspective that feels both timeless and intimate.
“Waterloo is often remembered as a battle between great men, and of course, we’ve all seen the grand paintings of Napoleon and Wellington. But we don’t have personal images of the men who actually fought and died that day,” Faulkner notes. His portraits offer a thoughtful response to this absence, placing the ordinary soldier at the heart of the narrative.
The book, published on the 200th anniversary of the battle, accompanied a 12-week exhibition at Somerset House, curated and designed by Patrick Kinmonth. Its cover design—a beautifully crafted foil-blocked map of the Waterloo battlefield on blue cloth—reflects the meticulous attention to detail that runs through the project.
Unseen Waterloo is both a poignant tribute to those who fought and a quiet meditation on how we remember and retell history. Through Faulkner’s lens, the soldiers of Waterloo are brought into sharp focus, their stories resonating across the centuries.
Unseen Waterloo: The Conflict Revisited- 1815 Edition
Unseen Waterloo: The Conflict Revisited book by Sam Faulkner accompanies photography exhibition of the same name at Somerset House to coincide with the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo.
From 2009, multi-award winning photographer Sam Faulkner travelled to the annual re-enactment in Belgium to photograph the 'soldiers', dressed in the historically accurate uniforms created with painstaking attention to detail for the event.
From his pop-up studio situated on the battlefield, he has made dramatic and painterly portraits which evoke the forgotten faces of Waterloo and reimagine moments of glory, of hope and defeat.
'Waterloo is often cast as a battle between Great Men and certainly we've all seen the grand paintings of Napoleon and Wellington from the conflict. However we don't have personal images of the men who actually fought and died that day’, said Sam Faulkner.
Published on 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo the book accompanied the 12 week exhibition at Somerset House designed and curated by Patrick Kinmonth.
The beautiful cover design is a foil blocked map of the Waterloo battlefield on blue cloth.