Lot 68: Albert Dawant (Fr., 1852-1923), Eve of Austerlitz

Albert Dawant (Fr., 1852-1923), Eve of Austerlitz
oil on canvas, signed at lower right "A. Dawant," depicting a stoic Napoleon addressing his troops in the late night prior to the Battle of Austerlitz, the scene dramatically illuminated by torches held aloft by the surrounding soldiers, a small camp fire smolders in the foreground - casting light towards muskets with bayonets stacked at the ready. Contemporary reports of the event record that as the news of Napoleon's visit spread, spontaneous cheering broke out from unit after unit of "C'est l'Annivenaire! Vive l'Empereur!' Housed in a magnificent period gilt wood frame with applied composition ornament.
In 1894, an engraving by Alphonse Lamotte was published after this painting by Dawant. A copy of the engraving is now in the Montreal Museum of Fine Art collection, donated by Ben Weider upon his death in 2008. It is interesting to note that an article published in the New York Times on April 29, 1894, titled PICTURES OF THE OLD SALON: THE SOCIETY OF FRENCH ARTISTS ON ITS METTLE, mentions"the most notable feature of the Salon is, perhaps, the large number of scenes from the life of Napoleon." In this same article, the writer notes, while referencing a painting by Dawant of young choir boys exhibited in the Salon, that there "is a good deal of character in the portrait of a gentleman M. Dawant exhibits." This statement certainly can be applied to each man featured in the present painting.

SS 30.25 x 45.25 in.; DOA 46 x 60 in.
Collection of a Raleigh, North Carolina Lady.