198 - Jean-Antoine DUCLAUX (Lyon, 1783–1868)

Jean-Antoine DUCLAUX (Lyon, 1783–1868) “Le Solide,” likely from the stables of Napoleon I. Pencil drawing on paper, signed “Duclaux” in the lower right corner and titled “Le Solide, Mecklenburg / English Cross” at the top. In a gilded wooden frame. H. 15.5 x W. 22 cm. Frame: H. 19.3 x W. 26 cm. Provenance - The artist’s collection. - Purchased by the current owner’s great-great-grandfather from the painter Antoine-Jean Duclaux. History In the book *Les Fournisseurs de Napoléon Ier et des deux impératrices, d'après des documents inédits tirés des Archives nationales* (The Suppliers of Napoleon I and the Two Empresses, Based on Unpublished Documents from the National Archives), by Alphonse Maze-Sencier (1831–1892), published in Paris by Henri Laurens in 1893, the author reproduces a record dated August 16, 1806, in which the Grand Equerry ordered the shipment of 130 saddle horses to Rambouillet for the imperial hunts. The list includes, in order: “the Russian, the Austrian, the Sturdy One, the Flighty One, the Spirited One, the Courteous One, the Docile One.” It is therefore likely that our horse is the one mentioned among the imperial stables of Napoleon I (sources: National Archives, O² 76).