Edouard Armand-Dumaresq (1826-1895) - Portrait of a cuirassier of the 1st Empire

Edouard ARMAND-DUMARESQ (Paris 1826 - Paris 1895)
Portrait of a cuirassier of the 1st Empire
Oil on canvas
H. 103 cm ; L. 89 cm
Signed with the monogram and dated lower left -1857

Provenance : former collection of the geologist and polytechnician Louis de Launay (1860-1938), then by descent

One can recognize in this impressive image the vigorous and virile style of Thomas Couture, whose pupil Armand-Dumaresq had been from 1847. The impasto (especially in the breastplate) and the brushed touch give great strength to this portrait.
It is probably a veteran of the First Empire, about sixty years old, wearing a beard and moustache in the fashion of the Second Empire, having wished to be represented in the uniform of his youth.

We thank Arnaud de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, who identifies the cuirassier troupier uniform as 1st Empire, corresponding more precisely to the 1812 model. Iron breastplate with central ridge, and brass rivets; suspenders with brass scales; small belt with brass buckle. Breeches with cloth or skin bridge.

Edouard Armand, who added his mother's name (Dumaresq) to his own, began his career with religious and genre paintings, as well as portraits. It was in 1855, five years after his debut at the Salon, that he exhibited for the first time a military painting (A Glorious Death; Memories of 1812, of which we have a version), on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition in Paris. From then on, he became one of the most appreciated painters in this genre, alternating between representations of military and historical events of the 1st Empire or contemporary. In the 1870s, he produced works on the theme of the American War of Independence, and one of his paintings is preserved in the White House. He was awarded the Légion d'Honneur in 1867.

Note that at the Salon de Besançon in 1870, the artist presented a watercolor titled Cuirassier de 1812, perhaps a preparatory work or a reworking of our painting.

The presence of this painting in Louis de Launay's collection can be explained by the fact that Armand-Dumaresq was a friend of the family, and was also a witness to Louis de Launay's birth.