Lot Essay
Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (1815-1891) had a brilliant career as a genre and historical painter, debuting at the Salon in 1834 and achieving exceptional fame and honour during his lifetime. His most celebrated works were the series of paintings of the important events in Napoleon's life.
Meissonier sculptures were all modelled in wax or clay, and were used as study maquettes for figures in his paintings. The present figure has variously been called 'The Voyager', 'A Horseman in a Storm', 'Napoleon in Russia', 'Marshal Ney' and 'The Retreat form Moscow'. The subject matter remains unclear, though the hat and cloak obviously depict a Napoleonic officer, and hence it must relate to the artist's famous painted series. A sepia drawing is reproduced in Gréard (fig. 1) entitled 'A Horseman in a Storm', which relates closely to the statuette, and the author lists a wax figure by the same title, which must be the source for the bronze, possibly the example now in the Musée d'Orsay (inv. R.F. 3672). Other bronze examples of this model are in The Hirsshorn Museum, Washington D.C. and in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lille.
Nineteen maquettes by Meissonier are recorded, and according to Lami, eight of these were edited in bronze by Siot-Decauville. The date of this casting is not known, and though the orignal maquettes must date from the period of his painted series, the bronzes were probably created towards the end of the artist's career. The Lille bronze cast was acquired by the museum in 1895 giving us a terminus ante quem for the edition, which was probably executed in the 1880s. The fine quality of the casts and their sharp finish suggest that their production was supervised by Meissonier himself.
Like the galopping wax figure of Duroc on horseback (Gréard p. 220) the present statuette reveals Meissonier's understanding of the equestrian figure and his ability to capture the force and movement of horses. The sensation of man and horse battling against nature's force is powerfully conveyed, with the mane and tail of the animal flaring in the wind, and the rider's hair and cloak raised and swept back. The strong horizontal of the horse is contrasted with the diagonals of the cloak, its deep folds adding further chromatic drama and enhancing the 'romantic' mood of the group. This is a fine and rare casting of Meissonier's spontaneous impressionistic modelling.
Meissonier sculptures were all modelled in wax or clay, and were used as study maquettes for figures in his paintings. The present figure has variously been called 'The Voyager', 'A Horseman in a Storm', 'Napoleon in Russia', 'Marshal Ney' and 'The Retreat form Moscow'. The subject matter remains unclear, though the hat and cloak obviously depict a Napoleonic officer, and hence it must relate to the artist's famous painted series. A sepia drawing is reproduced in Gréard (fig. 1) entitled 'A Horseman in a Storm', which relates closely to the statuette, and the author lists a wax figure by the same title, which must be the source for the bronze, possibly the example now in the Musée d'Orsay (inv. R.F. 3672). Other bronze examples of this model are in The Hirsshorn Museum, Washington D.C. and in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lille.
Nineteen maquettes by Meissonier are recorded, and according to Lami, eight of these were edited in bronze by Siot-Decauville. The date of this casting is not known, and though the orignal maquettes must date from the period of his painted series, the bronzes were probably created towards the end of the artist's career. The Lille bronze cast was acquired by the museum in 1895 giving us a terminus ante quem for the edition, which was probably executed in the 1880s. The fine quality of the casts and their sharp finish suggest that their production was supervised by Meissonier himself.
Like the galopping wax figure of Duroc on horseback (Gréard p. 220) the present statuette reveals Meissonier's understanding of the equestrian figure and his ability to capture the force and movement of horses. The sensation of man and horse battling against nature's force is powerfully conveyed, with the mane and tail of the animal flaring in the wind, and the rider's hair and cloak raised and swept back. The strong horizontal of the horse is contrasted with the diagonals of the cloak, its deep folds adding further chromatic drama and enhancing the 'romantic' mood of the group. This is a fine and rare casting of Meissonier's spontaneous impressionistic modelling.