MAMELUCKS OF THE IMPERIAL GUARD FIRST EMPIRE :: SOLDIERS OF STRASBOURG CARDBOARD FIGURINE GOUACHE PAINTED BY THE WURTZ FAMILY, SECOND HALF OF THE XIXth CENTURY, AROUND 1815-1848. 31156-13

IMPERIAL GUARD MAMELUKES FIRST EMPIRE: SOLDIERS OF STRASBOURG PAINTED CARDBOARD FIGURINE by the WURTZ family, second third of the 19th century, around 1815-1848. 31156-13

Three cavalrymen, H from the bottom of the base to eye level 10.5 cm.
Mounted on a wooden base.

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

PROVENANCE:
Former Wurtz-Pees collection, then Saint-Aubin, and private collection.
Mr. Marcel Saint-Aubin, a collector turned antiquarian between the wars. To my knowledge, no biography or article has ever been published about this personality, who is nevertheless well known among collectors and frequently cited in the provenance of historical objects of high quality. That is why I will open my archives to further illuminate this great connoisseur:
"Mobilized during the First World War alongside his brother in the infantry, the latter was killed at Verdun. Both shared the same interest in 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 antique dealers' neighborhoods. 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 'lucky charm' and always kept it.
The profession of antiquarian allowed Saint-Aubin to see and possess these cherished objects for a while. A discerning connoisseur, he never made mistakes, and his clients benefited from his expertise. A passionate researcher, everything he discovered in his life was remarkably varied. Taciturn and modest, he had an art and a way that left an indelible memory with the enthusiasts 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 found and they occupied only a temporary place. Generally, like Paul Jean, he would go fetch the items he wanted to sell in the neighboring room and present them, often without saying anything, with a slight smile, or if the presented object was truly exceptional, he would simply say without raising his voice, 'That's the cream of the crop...'
In June 1940, during the occupation, he went to 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 arrondissement, once again, far from the antique dealers' district.
His love for the objects he parted with was evident in the care he took in packaging them. Very skilled with his hands, he perfectly protected even the most modest piece.
Marcel Saint-Aubin died at the age of 83, taking with him the esteem of all who knew him, leaving behind a universally admired man with great moral values."

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
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 multiply their numbers more easily.
Christian Blondieau, in his work "Small soldiers of lead, tin, paper, cardboard ... 1765-1965 - The collector's guide" Editions Le Képi Rouge Paris 1996, specifies for cardboard soldiers:
"[...] unlike paper soldiers which are more aimed at youth, often colored in a clumsy manner, the cardboard soldier is designed for adults and guarantees great uniformological precision, which serves as the basis for our modern documentation...
Why are the little soldiers of Alsace referenced? Because they were made in most cases 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 (then a garrison town) saw a large number of soldiers in multicolored uniforms passing through their streets, heading to fight in Germany. This influx of troops, which lasted for more than fifteen years, inspired some to 'sketch' these handsome soldiers on the spot.
Alsatian authors agree in citing Benjamin Zix (1772-1811) as the genre's precursor. Leading Leopold Beyer, the German Geisler, or the Austrian Klein, Alsatian Zix provides a very realistic view of the soldiers of the time, as he himself, a combatant, roamed the battlefields more often armed with a pencil than with a rifle. He became an Army Officer draftsman.
From the peace of 1815 to the war of 1914, Strasbourg artists continued from generation to generation, this need to draw and paint [...]."
Under the First Empire, Strasbourg had about 30,000 inhabitants, with a permanent garrison of between 6,000 and 10,000 soldiers. However, this city also served as the gateway for countless troops of the Revolution and the Grande Armée heading for 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 who started drawing around 1800, the nephew of 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 (he was 15 years old) and for 55 years, his collection is held at the Museum of Compiègne, his style is more naive. Wurtz, to whom we dedicate a specific paragraph; Paul Schmidt, whose every figurine is annotated on the back with the soldier's name as 'sketched', this collection is kept at the Musée de l'Armée in Paris and has the feature of representing the soldiers of the National Guard of Strasbourg, among others.
Other artists have 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-PEEZ COLLECTION (Würtz German spelling):
Wurtz began his documentation under the First Empire, thanks to his friend J.P LÉvêque, a former surgeon of the Grande Armée who had gathered significant documentation on Napoleon's armies. He started making his figurines as of 1825 with the help of his son and then Pees, his father-in-law. The production was continued by the son, who completed his 'Napoleonic' collection with the help of his father-in-law Mr. Pees under the Second Republic (1850); some of the figurines we present have the date 1848 on the back of the cardboard. These figurines are of very high quality. 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) wrote: "the most precise and comprehensive representation 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 soldiers from Strasbourg.
Mr. Wurtz's son, Frédéric Wurtz, probably filled in the uniforms he had not observed himself from other documentary sources.
Following the fall of the Second Empire, Frédéric Wurtz refused to remain in Strasbourg under Prussian occupation and moved to Paris, Boulevard de Clichy, where he operated a pharmacy. After his death in 1898, the majority of his collection - nearly 16,000 figurines - was donated to the Musée de l'Armée on October 1, 1899, by his widow and his son, a medical officer; they were exhibited there in 1938 and have remained there since.
The specialist expert Christian Blondieau judges Wurtz's style to be comparable to that of Nicollet and Kratz.