Edouard Armand-dumaresq (1826-1895) Portrait Of A Cuirassier Of The 1st Empire Napoleon

Edouard ARMAND-DUMARESQ
(Paris 1826 - Paris 1895)
Portrait of a cuirassier from the 1st Empire
Oil on canvas
H. 103 cm; L. 89 cm
Signed with the monogram and dated lower left -1857

Provenance: former collection of geologist and polytechnician Louis de Launay (1860-1938), then by descent

This impressive image clearly recognizes the vigorous and virile style of Thomas Couture , of which Armand-Dumaresq had been a pupil from 1847. The impasto (especially in the cuirass) and the brushed touch give great strength to this portrait. It is probably a veteran of the 1st Empire, about sixty years old, wearing a beard and mustache in the fashion of the Second Empire, having wished to be represented in the uniform of his youth. We would like to thank Arnaud de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, who correctly identifies the cuirassier trooper's outfit as from the 1st Empire, corresponding more precisely to the 1812 model. Iron breastplate with central ridge, and brass rivets; brass scale suspenders; small belt with brass pin buckle. Panties with bridge in cloth or leather. Edouard Armand, who added his mother's name (Dumaresq) to his own, began his career with religious and genre paintings, as well as portraits. It was in 1855, five years after his debut at the Salon, that he exhibited a military painting for the first time (A glorious death; memories of 1812, of which we have a version), on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition. from Paris. Having therefore become one of the most appreciated painters in this genre, he alternated representations of military and historical events of the 1st Empire or contemporary ones. In the 1870s, he produced works on the theme of the American War of Independence, and one of his paintings is also kept at the White House. He was decorated with the Legion of Honor in 1867. Note that at the Salon de Besançon in 1870, the artist presented a watercolor titled Cuirassier from 1812, perhaps a preparatory work or a reworking of our painting. The presence of this painting in the collection of Louis de Launay is explained by the fact that Armand-Dumaresq was a friend of the family, and was also a witness at the birth of Louis de Launay.