This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/23/2024
[OIL PAINTING]. Original Oil Portrait of a Napoleonic General Officer (bearing a resemblance to General Charles Étienne Gudin (1768-1812)). [N.p., ca. 1814-15]. Oil on oval canvas and board. Sight approximately 21 x 17 ¼”. In original period frame. Frame size approximately 25 ½ x 21 ¾”. Painting with some faint soiling, frame heavily worn. Still, fine. A striking portrait of a General Officer from the period of the First Restoration or possibly immediately following the Hundred Days. The uniform is First Empire, although the medals worn include the Legion d’Honneur and the Order of St. Louis, which indicates service under King Louis XVIII. A choice period portrait. Though this officer is unidentified, there is a resemblance to Gudin, a Baron of the Empire, accomplished general (one of Napoleon’s “Immortals”), and a close friend of Napoleon. Gudin died in the disastrous Battle of Valutino in Russia. His remains were lost for decades until their discovery in Smolensk in 2019, where they were removed to France and were buried with honors.