PAUL-ALBERT GIRARD (1839-1920)
THE STANDARD PLATOON OF THE CENT-GUARDS RETURNING FROM THE REVIEW ON THE CHAMPS-ELYSÉES
Salon of 1869
Collection of Emperor Napoleon III
The most prestigious unit of the last emperor of the French on the most beautiful avenue in the world.
Paul-Albert Girard (1839-1920)
The platoon of the Cent-Gardes standards returning from the review on the Champs-Elysées
Signed lower right Albert Girard Oil on canvas 265 x 417 cm
Exhibited at the Salon in Paris in 1869, under no. 1043.
Rare view of the Champs-Elysées under the Second Empire, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background and in the foreground on the right the horses of Marly ordered by King Louis XV from the sculptor Guillaume I Coustou. We can recognize the prestigious platoon of the Cent-Gardes coming down the Champs-Elysées under the admiring gaze of the Parisians.
An elite unit created by Emperor Napoleon III in 1854 and dissolved when the sovereign fell in 1870, the platoon of the Hundred Guards had the essential function of ensuring the safety of the emperor and the imperial family. The Hundred Guards were also responsible for taking and returning the standards of the imperial guard deposited in the emperor's office at the Tuileries Palace. In our painting, the platoon of the Hundred Guards on horseback is depicted, preceded by a trumpeter and escorted by the guards carrying their sabres drawn, at the junction of the Champs-Elysées and the Place de la Concorde. The platoon heads towards the Tuileries Palace where it prepares to hand over the standards of the imperial guard that each standard-bearer has given to the officer of the Hundred Guards who has himself given it to one of the guards.
Origin
- Acquired from the artist by Emperor Napoleon III in 1869 (see purchase label by the emperor on the back of the chassis)
-Returned to Empress Eugénie in 1879 -Offered by the Empress to Jean-Baptiste Franceschini-Pietri
-Jean-Baptiste Franceschini-Pietri Collection -Baciocchi Estate, nephew of the previous, Ile Rousse, in 1924
-Madame Arlette de Bachiocchi-Adonno -Remained with the descendants since
This painting was acquired by Emperor Napoleon III, from his resources from the Civil List for 4000 francs, during the 1869 exhibition. It was sent to the Cent-Gardes barracks, rue de Bellechasse on 19 November 1869. Recognised as part of the Emperor's private domain after the revolution of 1870, this painting was returned to Empress Eugénie following the judgment of the Civil Court of First Instance of the Seine, on 12 February 1879. Jean-Baptiste Franceschini-Pietri (1834 – 1915) was Private Secretary to Emperor Napoleon III. He remained loyal to him by following him into exile. After the Emperor's death he continued his work with the Prince Imperial. On the latter's death, the Empress gave him paintings and souvenirs, including our painting, which Franceschini carefully preserved in his home on Ile Rousse. He died in 1915 at Chislehurst near the Empress.
Albert GIRARD (1839-1920) attended the studios of Bellel, Picot and Flandrin at the Beaux-Arts at the age of eighteen. Winner of the Prix de Rome in 1861, he began exhibiting at the Salon in 1859: views of Normandy, the banks of the Loire and the Italian countryside, but above all landscapes of Kabylie and street scenes in Algiers, where the powerful light devours the shapes. Albert Girard executed the cartoons for the nine large panels of the decor of the Council Chamber of the Court of Cassation, Quai de l'Horloge in Paris.
