(Paris 1856–1923) Officer of the “Chasseurs à Cheval” Regiment of Napoleon’s National Guard, signed François Flameng, oil on panel, 41.3 x 27.3 cm, framed, (W)

Provenance:
Florence Todd Andrews Collection, USA; New England Institution;
Skinner, Boston, Massachusetts, 11 September 2009, lot 317 (incorrectly titled “The Grenadier”)

François Flameng was a French painter, draughtsman, etcher and illustrator. Son and pupil of Léopold Flameng. Flameng started out with graphic works, his 1873 Salon debut a portrait etching. Shortly afterwards he turned to painting. He was initially a pupil of Alexandre Cabanel and Edmond Hédouin, and from 1875 studied with Jean Paul Laurens. In 1876 Flameng exhibited his first historical painting at the Salon, and from this time onwards he would exhibit there almost annually. In addition to portraits and military scenes, most of the Napoleonic Wars, he also painted genre scenes with figures dressed in typical 18th century French dress which he collected for this purpose. He spent the majority of his time in Paris and his country seat in Courgent, Yvelines, interrupted by sojourns in London, New York and Chicago. Flameng also took on important commissions for decorative painting in Paris. He was one of the most popular fashion portraitists of sophiscated female circles in Paris, New York and London (Cf. K.G. Saur, Allgemeines Künstler-Lexikon, Vol. 41, Munich-Leipzig 2004, p. 63).

The present work shows a rider in Napoleon’s famous regiment, the Horse Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard in the period between 1803 to around 1813. The Horse Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard was a light cavalry regiment and had its origins in the Guides raised by General Bonaparte during his Italian campaign of 1796. They were the riflemen of Napoleon’s personal escort, often wearing the uniform of the regiment in recognition of this service. (Cf. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasseurs_à_Cheval_de_la_Garde_Impériale; 31.7.2013).