Le Capitaine, 1805

CHARACTERISTICS
This bronze is an outstanding piece of sculpture. Cast in the traditional lost wax bronze method in a very limited number, the sculpture would be a centerpiece of many collections.
Height: 39 cm / 15.35 inch
Width: 17 cm / 6.69 inch
Depth: 11 cm / 4.33 inch
Weight: 3,6 kg / 14.9 lb.
Production: 20 Copies

"Le Capitaine"
BY FERNANDO ANDREA
SCALE 1:6 BRONZE SCULPTURE
LIMITED EDITION (20 copies)
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY INCLUDED
(Wax Stamp and signature of the sculptor)

HISTORY:
By closely following a Detaille’s illustration of a French captain of Hussars in 1805, this outstanding work by Fernando Andrea fully captures the extraordinary regalia and panache of the legendary light cavalry troops that rode all along the Napoleonic wars.

Originally an Hungarian cavalry force which history goes back to the 15th century, hussar regiments were gradually and extensively introduced in most European armies by the middle of the 18th; reaching the peak of his glorious career at the time of Frederick the Great and later with Napoleon.

These dashing cavaliers sported their flamboyant uniforms in many battles, riding spirited steeds and setting an indelible example of bravery and loyalty in the course of so many Napoleonic battles resounding still today in the collective imagination: Marengo (1800), Austerlitz (1805), Jena (1806), Borodino (1812)…or Waterloo (1815).

In fact, their dress was so successful, that many bodies of volunteers, raised during the first days of the Republic, wore Hussar-style uniforms immediately recognizable by their bear fur colbacks; the dolman and pelisse decorated with tresses; the breeches and boots ‘a la Hongroise’ or the lethal curved blades of their sabres.

Andrea’s masterful rendition of this ‘Capitaine’ is a highly detailed recreation of the appearance of one of these hussar officers around 1805 at its best…