Lot 8: HENRI FRANÇOIS RIESENER Fr. 1767-1828

HENRI FRANÇOIS RIESENER Fr. 1767-1828 Portrait of General Rapp Signed "Riesener 1806" Oil on canvas 25 1/2 × 21 3/8 in.(64.8 × 54.3 cm)

25 1/2 × 21 3/8 in.(64.8 × 54.3 cm)

Oil on canvas

Provenance Inventory, General Rapp's belongings, February 21, 1822, #981 Shepherd Gallery, New York To the current owner, 1974

The subject was painted in the year immediately following the Battle of Austerlitz where General Rapp distinguished himself as a courageous leader referred to by Napoleon as "My brave Rapp". A copy of two letters, one in French and one in English, dated December 11, 1986, written by Pierre Lavayssière accompanies this lot. Lavayssière: "...this portrait is that of a high-ranking officer. The golden shoulder knots belong only to the very close friends of Napoleon. This distinction is worn on the right shoulder, only by twenty-six persons of the Maison Militaire de l'Empereur, and specifically by the aides-de-camp...and the main/chiefs of the guard. The painter is very aware of the importance of the details."