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拍品專文
The present painting portrays Justo Machado, a Spanish civil servant, who served in Rome from 1802 until 1809, when he was dismissed and imprisoned for refusing to show allegiance to the French by bowing down to Napoleon's invading army. Although injured, he escaped from prison, intent on returning to his home country. On his trip back to Spain he traveled overland through Italy to Vienna, then south to Turkey, before returning by sea to Cadiz via Sicily, Sardinia and Gibraltar. The Spanish government sent him back on a secret mission to Vienna, to organize a plot with the Austrian Emperor to overthrow Napoleon, and on this trip he travelled once again through Turkey. With the Bourbon restoration and the expulsion of Napoleon, Machado returned to Paris before 1814, where he is recorded as a Secretary to the Spanish Embassy and participated in the signing of the peace treaty between Spain and France; he was appointed Consul Gnral in 1819, a post he held until 1822.
The present portrait is dated 1821 and depicts Machado on a white horse. The horse's bridle and his headband are embellished with the Turkish crescent and both horse and rider are placed before what appears to be the Turkish coastline, perhaps a 'souvenir' of his 1809 flight.
Horace Vernet included the present picture in the exhibition he organized in 1822 in his studio at 5 rue de la Tour des Dames in Paris. The exhibition had been organized as a protest against the rejection of his works from the official Salon. In fact, Charles X and his ministers had ordered the Salon organizers to refuse Vernet's works on the grounds that they alluded admiringly to Napoleon and that this would 'reveiller le sentiment napoleonien parmi le public'. In 1822 Vernet was considered a social threat for plotting against the Monarchy. His studio was placed under police surveillance, a situation that did not ease until a rise in the artist's popularity occured in the following years. Indeed the success of this private 1822 exhibition, in which Vernet showed forty-five paintings, was enormous. Alongside the Portrait of General Machado, the public could see his now famous Mon atelier as well as La Defense de la Barriere de Clichy and La Bataille de Jemmapes. After the exhibition, Vernet won many commissions and later became one of France's most famous official painters.
There is some irony in noting that Vernet, who in 1821 was considered by the authorities a defender of Napoleon par excellence, happily painted the portrait of a young diplomat whose reputation was earned by attempting to overthrow the very same emperor.
The present portrait is dated 1821 and depicts Machado on a white horse. The horse's bridle and his headband are embellished with the Turkish crescent and both horse and rider are placed before what appears to be the Turkish coastline, perhaps a 'souvenir' of his 1809 flight.
Horace Vernet included the present picture in the exhibition he organized in 1822 in his studio at 5 rue de la Tour des Dames in Paris. The exhibition had been organized as a protest against the rejection of his works from the official Salon. In fact, Charles X and his ministers had ordered the Salon organizers to refuse Vernet's works on the grounds that they alluded admiringly to Napoleon and that this would 'reveiller le sentiment napoleonien parmi le public'. In 1822 Vernet was considered a social threat for plotting against the Monarchy. His studio was placed under police surveillance, a situation that did not ease until a rise in the artist's popularity occured in the following years. Indeed the success of this private 1822 exhibition, in which Vernet showed forty-five paintings, was enormous. Alongside the Portrait of General Machado, the public could see his now famous Mon atelier as well as La Defense de la Barriere de Clichy and La Bataille de Jemmapes. After the exhibition, Vernet won many commissions and later became one of France's most famous official painters.
There is some irony in noting that Vernet, who in 1821 was considered by the authorities a defender of Napoleon par excellence, happily painted the portrait of a young diplomat whose reputation was earned by attempting to overthrow the very same emperor.