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Lot Essay
Signed and dated 1817, this unlined canvas in beautiful state is an exceptional work by the French painter Alexandre-Jean Dubois-Drahonet. Drahonet worked primarily as a portraitist but also produced a number of studies of military uniforms and offices (several of which are now in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen of England). This portrait of the nine-year-old Achille Deban de Laborde combines both Drahonet’s talent for portraiture as well as his detailed knowledge of military uniform and accoutrements.
This painting also serves as a memorial to the sitter’s father, whose heroism and military service was renowned. Jean-Baptiste Deban de Laborde (1769-1809) was a prominent soldier and military figure during the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars, who had served as Colonel of the 8th Regiment of Hussars from 1805 until his death at the Battle of Wagram in 1809. Having risen through the ranks of numerous cavalry regiments, he participated in Napoleon’s Italian campaign (1799-1800), acting as Chef d'escadron (squadron leader) at the Battle of Marengo, for which he was awarded a ceremonial sword in honor of his bravery. Laborde was also rewarded with the medal of the Legion of Honour on 14th April 1804. In 1805, he was made a Colonel, serving successively in Napoleon’s Polish and Prussian campaigns between 1806 and 1807. Was also given a baronetcy of the Empire, a title later restored by his son in 1853 during the Second Empire. Laborde’s final campaign in Germany and Austria culminated in the Battle of Wagram on 6th July 1809, where he died in the field.
Leaning on the ceremonial sword presented to his father by Napoleon after the Battle of Marengo, Achille Deban de Laborde wears a version of a hussar’s uniform with the distinctive silver frogging on the short jacket, tight red embroidered trousers and tasselled hessian boots. Behind him on the sofa are piled his father’s sabretache (a flat pouch worn from cavalry men’s belts, here prominently decorated with his regimental number), sabre scabbard and plumed shako cap. High on the wall at upper left hang Colonel Laborde’s medals, among them the Légion d’honneur. The commemorative nature of the portrait, celebrating the distinguished military career of Laborde, is especially significant given the period during which it was painted. After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the Bourbon monarchy was restored under Louis XVIII and by 1817, the date inscribed on the present work, France had been swept by an outpouring of anti-Imperial sentiment from royalist supporters. The emphasis on the sitter’s father’s distinguished military career under Napoleon would therefore have been a significant, perhaps daring, statement of the Laborde family’s political allegiances during a period of staunchly anti-Napoleonic feeling.
This painting also serves as a memorial to the sitter’s father, whose heroism and military service was renowned. Jean-Baptiste Deban de Laborde (1769-1809) was a prominent soldier and military figure during the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars, who had served as Colonel of the 8th Regiment of Hussars from 1805 until his death at the Battle of Wagram in 1809. Having risen through the ranks of numerous cavalry regiments, he participated in Napoleon’s Italian campaign (1799-1800), acting as Chef d'escadron (squadron leader) at the Battle of Marengo, for which he was awarded a ceremonial sword in honor of his bravery. Laborde was also rewarded with the medal of the Legion of Honour on 14th April 1804. In 1805, he was made a Colonel, serving successively in Napoleon’s Polish and Prussian campaigns between 1806 and 1807. Was also given a baronetcy of the Empire, a title later restored by his son in 1853 during the Second Empire. Laborde’s final campaign in Germany and Austria culminated in the Battle of Wagram on 6th July 1809, where he died in the field.
Leaning on the ceremonial sword presented to his father by Napoleon after the Battle of Marengo, Achille Deban de Laborde wears a version of a hussar’s uniform with the distinctive silver frogging on the short jacket, tight red embroidered trousers and tasselled hessian boots. Behind him on the sofa are piled his father’s sabretache (a flat pouch worn from cavalry men’s belts, here prominently decorated with his regimental number), sabre scabbard and plumed shako cap. High on the wall at upper left hang Colonel Laborde’s medals, among them the Légion d’honneur. The commemorative nature of the portrait, celebrating the distinguished military career of Laborde, is especially significant given the period during which it was painted. After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the Bourbon monarchy was restored under Louis XVIII and by 1817, the date inscribed on the present work, France had been swept by an outpouring of anti-Imperial sentiment from royalist supporters. The emphasis on the sitter’s father’s distinguished military career under Napoleon would therefore have been a significant, perhaps daring, statement of the Laborde family’s political allegiances during a period of staunchly anti-Napoleonic feeling.