The Wounded Cuirassier
| French: Le Cuirassier blessé quittant le feu | |
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| Artist | Théodore Géricault |
|---|---|
| Year | 1814 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 358 cm × 294 cm (141 in × 116 in) |
| Location | Musée du Louvre in Paris and Brooklyn Museum in New York City |
The Wounded Cuirassier (French: Le Cuirassier blessé quittant le feu) is an oil painting of a single anonymous soldier descending a slope with his horse by the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault (1791–1824). In this 1814 Salon entry, Géricault decided to depict a different view of battle than the generally done views of entire battles or of famous generals bravely fighting. On display just a few months after Napoleon's fall from power, this life-size painting symbolized the French defeats and Napoleon's failure.[1] Though the painting is called "The Wounded Cuirassier", there are no visible wounds on the soldier. Additionally, though Géricault generally created several drafts before settling on a final design, there do not seem to be any paintings of his that could be considered precursors to this painting. Only his Signboard of a Hoofsmith, which is currently in a private collection, bears any resemblance in form or function to this painting.[2]
The two known copies of the painting are at the Musée du Louvre and at the Brooklyn Museum.
External links
- The Wounded Cuirassier at the Brooklyn Museum website.
- Cuirassier blessé quittant le feu at the Louvre official site (in French)
