Overall: 37cm (14.6in) x 43cm (17in)
Oil on mahogany. A squadron of Cuirassiers charging across an open plain in campaign uniform (Tenue de Campaign) comprising cuirass, helmet, coat, sabre, and tall boots. Yellow facings suggest either the 7th or 8th Cuirassier Regiment. A dead horse in foreground wears a shabraque of the Austrian cuirassiers. Signed lower left Guido Sigriste. Contained of period gessoed and gilt frame. Panel: 20.5cm (8in) x 27cm (10.8in).
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Guido Sigriste (1864-1915) was a French trained Swiss painter of historical and military subjects. Born in Aarau, he was a pupil of Gustave Boulanger and Jules Lefèbvre in Paris, and made his name at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1891 with a painting entitled Le Défilé. He specialized in cavalry battle scenes drawn from the epic events of the First Empire, gaining a reputation as one of the most conscientious painters of the genre. At the end of the 19th century Sigriste turned to photography in order to pinpoint the attitudes of a galloping horse. Unable to find a camera with a sufficiently fast shutter system, he built one himself that provided the necessary latitude in exposure time. He went on to add horse racing at Longchamp to his repertoire of subjects. His equestrian works were admired for their dynamism, ardour and delicacy of touch, and were widely acquired by museums. At the age of 50, Sigriste joined the Foreign Legion and on 14 March 1915 died of wounds received in action on the Western Front.
