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Auguste Raffet (1804 - 1860) The eye of the master
Pen and b…
See original version (French)
17
-
Auguste Raffet (1804 - 1860) The eye of the master
Pen and b…
See original version (French)
Estimate €800 - €1,200
Voluntary lot
Description
Auguste Raffet (1804 - 1860)
The eye of the master
Pen and brown ink and brown ink wash over graphite lines on paper
190 x 255 mm
This drawing by Denis-Auguste-Marie Raffet is preparatory to a composition entitled L'œil du maitre (The Eye of the Master), produced around 1833 for an album published in 1833 by the Gihaut brothers.
Denis-Auguste-Marie Raffet began his career in modest circumstances, working initially as an apprentice woodturner and then as a painter on porcelain for the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres. To improve his income and his technique, he took evening classes at the Académie Suisse. In 1824, Nicolas-Toussaint Charlet (1792-1845) introduced him to lithography. In 1829, Raffet entered the Beaux-Arts in the studio of the famous painter of Napoleon's epic, Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835). After failing the Prix de Rome painting competition in 1831, he abandoned the idea of a classical career to devote himself entirely to drawing, watercolour and lithographic illustration. His work is particularly renowned for having powerfully disseminated the Napoleonic legend and popularised the military type of the "grognard". He distinguished himself by drawing numerous battle scenes and contributing to historical works such as Histoires d'Adolphe Thiers and Histoire de Napoléon de Norvins.
This composition places the Emperor at the absolute centre of the composition, dominating the scene. To Napoleon's right stand two horsemen at a standstill, while to his left, another horseman rushes into the thick of the fighting. In the background, smoke envelops the action and lends a profound dramatic intensity to the scene. This drawing was made at the beginning of Raffet's compositional process; the final version is more detailed. This spontaneous drawing has a unique liveliness that bears witness to Raffet's virtuosity and talent as a draughtsman.
See original version (French)
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Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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