Overall: 58cm (23in) x 42cm (16.5in)
Watercolour and gouache on paper. Study of a seated Napoleonic Dragoon attired in the middle-green-tunic or ‘habit’, with pewter buttons, of to all thirty of Napoleon’s dragoon regiments. The regimental facing colour on the subject’s collar, lapels, cuffs and flaps, and coat tail turnbacks (with a horizontal, rather than vertical, false pocket) narrows the field to suggest one of four possible regiment, 1st, 3rd, 7th or 9th. The plume forward of the left rosace on the dragoon’s copper helmet suggest parade rather field dress, but alas does not assist. The length, shape, colour of dragoon plumed changed frequently and could even vary between squadrons. Signed lower right. Sheet: 48cm x 32cm. Framed and glazed.
Maurice Henri Orange (1867-1916) was born in Granville on the Normandy coast. He won a scholarship to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1885, and studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme and François Flameng. He specialized in historical subjects, especially of the Napoleonic era, though he also produced portraits and other works. From 1887 to 1914, he took part in the Salon des Artistes Français, winning medals and travelling scholarships. A self-portrait of 1900 reveals the artist’s romantic view of France’s Napoleonic adventure. He is shown completing his large history painting ‘The Return of the Privateers in 1806’, which was bought by the French state for the Musee d'Art et d'Histoire de Granville. It depicts defeated British sailors and marines being marched through the streets of Granville by their ecstatic captors. The self portrait includes a collection of Premier Empire swords and accoutrements in his studio as a testament to his eye for detail.