Presumed Portrait Of Jb Dubessy Colonel Of The 2nd Regiment Of Dragoons Under The Empire - Circa 1815

French School at the beginning of the 19th century, portrait of a veteran officer of the Empire, officer of the Legion of Honor and Knight of the Order of Saint Louis. It is presented in its original gilded wood frame with palmettes, from the Restoration period. Our officer wearing a Lieutenant Colonel uniform of the 2nd Dragoon Regiment under the First Empire. (the characteristic uniform, the regiment recognizable by the number 2 on the buttons). Oil on canvas from the Empire Restoration period, the work of a good painter (the facial features, the complexion very lively and the character of the man well represented). The painting is not signed, but recalls the style of Van Gorp and could be attributable to the latter. Circa 1815-1820. Our research to identify this officer (age of the subject approximately 50-60 years, rank, uniform, decorations received) led us to identify it as a presumed portrait of Jean Baptiste Dubessy, (1770 - 1838) French soldier of the Revolution and the Empire. Dubessy spent his entire career in the cavalry as a non-commissioned officer before the revolution, the campaigns of the latter allowing him to climb the ranks. His behavior was honorable during the Terror, appointed to the Western Army, he avoided the death of 300 women and children that Carrier asked him to shoot by disobeying the barbaric order and sending these people inside of the territory, thus saving their lives. Captain of Dragoons in 1794, he distinguished himself at the battle of Frankenthal by being wounded in the head, a horse killed under him. Squadron leader in 1801, Major in 1803 in the 30th Dragoons, he received the Legion of Honor in 1804. Appointed second colonel in 1809, he fought in the Spanish campaign until 1813-1814 when he obtained the rank of officer of the Legion of Honor. Under the first restoration, in 1814 he received the cross of Saint Louis and took command of the 3rd dragoons. Within 100 days, he took command of the 2nd Dragoons and was retired in 1815. Henri-Nicolas Van Gorp or Vangorp, born around 1758 in Paris, died August 17, 1820 in Beaumont-sur-Oise (Val-d' Oise) is a French painter and watercolorist, specializing in genre scenes. He started his activity under the old regime and his talent made him remain at the forefront under all regimes until his death under the Restoration. Received as a student at the Royal Academy in June 1773, protected by Étienne Jeaurat, he remained there for a dozen years as a boarder, and became the student or fellow student of Louis-Léopold Boilly. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1796 until 1819. At the time of the Directory, he lived on rue du Coq-Honoré. It is particularly as a portrait painter that he is appreciated. His genre scenes have often been reproduced in engraving. Confusion exists between the works of the master and his disciple, Van Gorp having even been described as a “pasticheur of Boilly” by Paul Marmottan. Humbly, we do not share this critical opinion. If Boilly's works denote a real talent for bringing out the intimate character of the subject, to the point of sometimes seeming like a caricature portrait, Van Gorp's works are characterized by great elegance and attention to detail. The subjects are almost always beautiful, like our officer whose life we will appreciate with his eyes, he is a veteran of the Empire, he experienced its campaigns in the flesh and it shows. Excellent condition, painting on its original canvas and in its original frame, in very good original condition, and cleaned by our restorers. Frame: 72.5cm x 61cm Canvas: 62cm x 50cm