Lot Essay
The sitter is identified by his brassard as an aide-de-camp of a lieutenant-general of the Empire. On his cross-belt, the badge originally displayed a Napoleonic eagle which was subsequently covered, during the Reformation, with the Royal fleur-de-lys, but has reappeared. The medals are those of the Légion d'honneur and the Ordre de Saint Louis. This resembles Regnault's practice in other family portraits, in which military decorations could be 'updated' to reflect new honors or political developments. Antoine-Louis Regnault had a distinguished military career serving during the Empire in Prussia, Poland and the Peninsular War; he continued to serve after the Reformation and retired in 1853 with the rank of a brigadier-general and as a Commandeur of the Légion d'honneur.