NAPOLEONIC NAVY SAILORS CORPS: STRASBOURG SOLDIERS CARDBOARD FIGURINE GOUACHE PAINTED BY THE WURTZ FAMILY, SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY, AROUND 1815-1848. 31156

CORPS DES MATELOTS DE LA GARDE - FIRST EMPIRE: SOLDIERS OF STRASBOURG FIGURINE MADE OF PAINTED CARDBOARD gouache by the WURTZ family, second third of the 19th century, around 1815-1848. 31156-1

A pedestrian, H from the bottom of the base to eye level 8.5 cm. Mounted on a wooden base.

France.
First half of the 19th century.
Good condition.

PROVENANCE:
Former Wurtz-Peés collection, then Saint-Aubin, and private collection.
Mr. Marcel Saint-Aubin, a collector turned antiquarian between the two world wars. To my knowledge, no biography or article has ever been published on this individual who is nevertheless known to collectors and frequently cited in the provenances of historical objects, often of high quality. That is why I will open my archives to shed more light on this great connoisseur:
"Mobilized during the First World War, along with his brother in the infantry, the latter was killed at Verdun. Both shared the same love for military memorabilia; both drew and published their drawings in the magazine 'La Giberne' before 1914.
After the war, he established himself as an antiquarian. In 1926, he lived at 108 rue de Ménilmontant (Paris 20th), far from the favored neighborhoods of antiquarians. His choice focused on the specialty that had long attracted him: military curiosities. The spark that led him to this specialty came from his first find: an officer's saber from the Consulate period, his first beautiful sword; he called it his 'good luck charm' and he always kept it.
The role of an antiquarian allowed Saint-Aubin to see and possess these cherished objects for a time. A keen connoisseur, he never made a mistake, and his clients benefited from his knowledge. As a passionate researcher, everything he discovered in his lifetime was remarkably diverse. Silent and modest, he had a way and manner that left an indelible impression on the collectors who knew him.
Like most military object dealers of that time, Marcel Saint-Aubin did not have a store. He received customers in his apartment, where few objects were displayed, occupying only a temporary place. Generally, like Paul Jean, he would fetch the items he wanted to sell from the next room and present them without saying a word, often with a slight smile, or if the item being shown was truly exceptional, he would simply say in a calm tone, 'It's excellent.'"
In June 1940, during the occupation, he left for Guingamp. He returned to Paris and resettled at the end of 1951 in the house he had acquired at 16 rue Henri Pape, in the 13th district, once again, far from the antique dealers' district.
His love for the objects he parted with was evident in the care he took in their packaging. Skillful with his hands, he protected even the most modest piece perfectly.
Marcel Saint-Aubin passed away at the age of 83, taking with him the esteem of all who knew him, leaving behind the memory of a man with great moral values."

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
The soldiers of Strasbourg are cardboard figurines, "flat" soldiers, cut from rigid cardboard. In most cases, these soldiers are drawn and then printed in sheets to easily multiply their number.
Christian Blondieau, in his work "Petits soldats de plomb, d'étain, de papier, de carton... 1765-1965 - Le guide du collectionneur" Editions Le Képi Rouge Paris 1996, specifies for cardboard soldiers:
"[...] unlike paper soldiers intended more for young people, often colored clumsily, the cardboard soldier is made for adults, providing a guarantee of great uniform accuracy, which serves as the basis for our modern documentation...
Why do the little soldiers from Alsace stand out? Because they were made in the majority of cases by eyewitnesses of the time or their descendants, and often date back to the time they represent.
During the wars of the Revolution and the Empire, the inhabitants of Strasbourg (a garrison town at the time) saw a large number of soldiers in multicolored uniforms passing through their streets, heading off to battle in Germany.
This influx of troops, lasting more than fifteen years, inspired some to 'freeze' these handsome soldiers in action.
Alsatian authors agree in citing Benjamin Zix (1772-1811) as the genre's precursor. Leading ahead of Léopold Beyer, the German Geisler, or the Austrian Klein, the Alsatian Zix provides a very realistic aspect of the soldiers of the time, as he was a combatant himself, traversing battlefields more often armed with a pencil than a rifle. He became an Army Officer draftsman.
From the peace of 1815 to the war of 1914, Strasbourg artists continued this need to draw and paint from generation to generation [...]."
During the First Empire, Strasbourg had about 30,000 inhabitants, with a permanent garrison of 6,000 to 10,000 soldiers. The city was also a passage for countless troops of the Revolution and the Grande Armée heading to campaigns across the Rhine.
Among all these artists, and for this period, the three most well-known are: Thiébaut Borerst (incorrectly spelled Boersch) (1782-1824), a miller who began drawing around 1800, nephew of the painter Benjamin Zix; his collection was auctioned in Angers on March 10, 1971, and his style is probably the most refined known to us. Eugène Nicollet (1802-1872), who painted his soldiers from 1817 (at the age of 15) for 55 years, his collection is held at the Museum of Compiègne, and his style is more naïve. Wurtz, on whom we dedicate a specific paragraph. Paul Schmidt, whose each figure is annotated on the back with the soldier's name as "sketched," this collection kept at the Musée de l'Armée in Paris has the characteristic of representing the soldiers of the National Guard of Strasbourg, among others.
Other artists also worked in a similar manner: Frédérik Schmidt (born in 1796). But we can also mention Édouard Kratz (1803-1885), Schmidt's son (born in 1824), Théodore Carl (born in 1837)...

WURTZ COLLECTION (German spelling Würtz):
Wurtz began documenting under the First Empire and started making his figurines from 1815. The production was continued by his son, who completed the collection with the help of his father-in-law Mr. Peés under the Second Republic, some of the figurines we present have the date 1848 on the back of the cardboard. These figurines are of very high quality. The author Edward Ryan, in his work "Paper Soldiers the illustrated history of printed paper armies of the 18th, 19th & 20th centuries" (Golden Age Editions, London 1995), writes that they are "the most precise and complete representation of troops from the First Empire". Each regiment is represented in all ranks and types of uniforms exhaustively, which is rare in representations of soldiers from Strasbourg.
Wurtz's son likely completed the uniforms he had not observed himself using other documentary sources; he left no notes or documentation. After the fall of the Second Empire, Wurtz's son refused to stay in Strasbourg under Prussian occupation and moved to Paris, where he ran a pharmacy near the Porte de Clichy. Following his death in 1899, most of his collection - nearly 19,000 figurines from his predecessor - was donated to the Musée de l’Armée on October 1 of the same year; they were exhibited in 1938 and have remained there since. Expert specialist Christian Blondieau compares Wurtz's style to that of Nicollet and Kratz.