ARTILLERY WORKER AND MUSICIAN OF THE IMPERIAL GUARD SAILOR CORPS FIRST EMPIRE: STRASBOURG SOLDIERS FIGURE OF CARDBOARD PAINTED IN GOUACHE BY THE WURTZ FAMILY, SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY, AROUND 1815-1848. 31156-7.

ARTILLERY WORKER AND MUSICIAN OF THE IMPERIAL GUARD SAILORS CORPS FIRST EMPIRE: STRASBOURG SOLDIERS CARDBOARD FIGURINE painted by the WURTZ family, second half of the 19th century, circa 1815-1848. 31156-7

Two pedestrians, H from the base of the plinth 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, was a collector who became an antiquarian between the two World Wars. To my knowledge, no biography or article has ever been published about this personality, who is nevertheless known to collectors and frequently cited in the provenance of historical objects of great quality. That is why I will open my archives to better acquaint 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 taste for military souvenirs; both drew and published their drawings in the magazine 'La Giberne' before 1914.
After the war, he set himself up as an antiquarian. In 1926, he lived at 108 rue de Ménilmontant (Paris 20th arrondissement), far from the traditional antique districts. His choice focused on the specialty that had attracted him for a long time: military curiosities. The spark that directed him towards this specialty came from his first find: an officer's saber of light cavalry from the Consulate, his first beautiful sword; he called it his 'good luck charm,' and always kept it.
Being an antiquarian allowed Saint-Aubin to see and possess these treasured objects for some time. A true connoisseur, he never made mistakes, and his clients benefited from his knowledge. A passionate researcher, everything he discovered in his life was amazingly diverse. Silent and modest, he had an art and a way that left an unforgettable memory among the enthusiasts who knew him.
Like most dealers in military items of that time, Marcel Saint-Aubin did not have a shop. He received visitors in his apartment, where few objects were found, occupying only a temporary place. Generally, like Paul Jean, he would fetch the objects he wanted to sell from the adjoining room and present them often without saying anything, with a slight smile, or if the item presented was truly exceptional, he would simply say, without raising his voice, 'It's top-notch....'
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, 16 rue Henri Pape, in the 13th arrondissement, once again, far from the antique districts.
His love for the objects he parted with was reflected even in the care he took with their packaging. Very skilled with his hands, he protected even the most modest piece perfectly.
Marcel Saint-Aubin died at the age of 83, taking with him the esteem of all who knew him, leaving behind a universally cherished memory of a man with great moral values."

HISTORICAL:
The Strasbourg soldiers are cardboard figurines, "flat" soldiers, cut from rigid cardboard. In most cases, these soldiers are drawn and then printed on sheets to multiply their number more easily.
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 regarding cardboard soldiers:
"[...] contrary to paper soldiers intended more for the youth, often colored in a clumsy way, the cardboard soldier is made for adults and guarantees a high level of uniform precision, which serves as the basis for our modern documentation...
Why do the small soldiers from Alsace stand out? Because they were mostly created by eyewitnesses of the time or their descendants, and are often contemporary to the era they represent.
During the wars of the Revolution and the Empire, the inhabitants of Strasbourg (which was then a garrison town) saw a large number of soldiers with colorful uniforms passing through their streets, heading off to battle in Germany.
This influx of troops, which lasted more than fifteen years, gave some the idea of capturing these beautiful soldiers on paper.
Alsatian authors agree on citing Benjamin Zix (1772-1811) as the precursor of the genre. Anticipating Léopold Beyer, the German Geisler, or the Austrian Klein, the Alsatian Zix gives us a very realistic aspect of the soldier of the time, as he himself was a combatant, roaming the 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, from generation to generation, continue this need to draw and paint[...]."
Under the First Empire, Strasbourg had approximately 30,000 inhabitants, with a permanent garrison of between 6,000 and 10,000 soldiers. However, this city also saw countless troops from the Revolution and the Grande Armée passing through, heading to campaigns across the Rhine.
Of all these artists, and for this period, the three most well-known are: Thiébaut Borerst (incorrectly spelled Boersch) (1782-1824) a miller by trade who began drawing around 1800, a nephew of the painter Benjamin Zix, his collection was auctioned off in Angers on March 10, 1971, his style is probably the most refined that we know of. Eugène Nicollet (1802-1872), who painted his soldiers from 1817 (at the age of 15) and did so for 55 years, his collection is housed at the Compiègne Museum, and his style is more naive. Wurtz, to whom we dedicate a specific paragraph. Paul Schmidt, whose each figurine is annotated on the back with the name of the soldier as "sketched," this collection is preserved at the Musée de l'Armée in Paris and notably represents the soldiers of the National Guard of Strasbourg, among others.
Other artists also worked in the same way: 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 (Würtz in German spelling):
Wurtz began his documentation in the First Empire and started making his figurines as early as 1815. The production was continued by his son, who completed his collection with the help of his father-in-law, Mr. Peés, in the Napoleonic period under the Second Republic. Some of the figurines we present have the year 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 represent "the most precise and complete depiction of the troops of the First Empire." Each regiment is represented in all ranks and types of uniforms in an exhaustive manner, which is rare in the representations of Strasbourg soldiers.
Wurtz's son probably supplemented the uniforms he did not observe himself with other documentary sources; he left no notes or documentation. At the fall of the Second Empire, Wurtz's son refused to remain in Strasbourg under Prussian occupation and moved to Paris, settling in the area of the Porte de Clichy, where he ran a pharmacy. Following his death in 1899, most of his collection - nearly 19,000 figurines from his ancestor - 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.
The expert Christian Blondieau considers Wurtz's style comparable to that of Nicollet and Kratz.