Attributed To Théodore Géricault C1820 Study Of The Model Gerfant, Mamluk Horseman Of Napoleon

Attributed to Théodore Géricault circa 1820 Study of the model Gerfant, Mamluk Horseman of Napoleon's Imperial Guard

This painting of very high quality reflects the artist's art at its peak, through its artistic virtuosity and its expressive force characteristic of Géricault's best works. It represents a recognized model of the painter, Gerfant, Mameluke Cavalier of Napoleon's Imperial Guard Corps. After the fall of the Empire he was chosen as a model by Géricault. The warlike intensity of his gaze is exceptionally translated by the painter in this work. The Mameluke Gerfant also served as a model for Géricault in the Raft of the Medusa, exhibited at the Louvre. He is there, lying on his back, at the bottom left of the large painting. Ten years later, in 1833, he posed for Ingres. He appears in his study for the Martyr of Saint Syphorien kept at the Fogg Art Museum. Our work is a powerful testimony to Géricault's great talent for translating emotions and expressing strength of character in the face of tragic episodes of human drama. Gerfant is here dressed in a Roman toga, its red color showing his belonging to the plebs. We can glimpse an allusion to the slave past of the Mamluk people, through the militant palette of a fiercely anti-slavery painter. Restored with the greatest care, this painting bears a symbol painted in its upper left part and the words "study from nature…" written in pencil on its stretcher. Due to the historical importance of this work, preference will be given to its acquisition by a museum.

Stretcher dimensions H 56 cm L 47 cm P 3 cm H 22" W 18.5" D 1"
Frame dimensions H 78 cm L 67 cm P 7 cm H 31" W 26.5" D 3"

Price: €80,000