Height: 46cm (18in)
Patinated bronze. Equestrian figure of Emperor Napoleon I, mounted on his favourite battle horse Marengo, and modelled in bicorn and greatcoat, his head turned slightly to the left, the whole set on a naturalistically modelled base inscribed 'J.E.Masson' and bearing the mark of the prestigious bronze foundry ‘Susse Freres Fondeurs Paris’.
This bronze was inspired by the 1862 equestrian portrait by the French Classicist Ernest Meissonier (1815-1891), who unusually for a painter made preparatory sculptures rather than sketches before producing his finished paintings. As with the present bonze and the painting (which resides in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore) depicts the Emperor just after his last, hard-won victory in the 1814 French campaign that was fought at Arcis-sur-Aube, near Troyes, where 23,000 French troops withstood the onslaught of 90,000 Austrians, but were unable to capitalize on their victory. Messonier’s painting was greatly admired by the British art critic John Ruskin who bought it for his own collection.
Following Messonier’s death, Jules Edmond Masson (1871-1932) capitalized on the popularity of Messonier’s work and Napoleon’s hero status with an edition of this equestrian bronze. The quality of Masson’s modelling reflects Messonier’s eye for detail that Ruskin so admired. Masson was the son and student of Clovis Masson, who was also a renowned sculptor and a pupil of Barye. J.E. Masson specialized in depictions of animals and Orientalist subjects, as well as equestrian monuments and military themed works of imperial France.