IMPERIAL GUARD SCOUTS FIRST EMPIRE: STRASBOURG SOLDIERS CARDBOARD FIGURINE GOUACHE PAINTED BY THE WURTZ FAMILY, SECOND HALF OF THE 19th CENTURY, CIRCA 1815-1848. 31156-42

IMPERIAL GUARD SCOUTS FIRST EMPIRE: STRASBOURG SOLDIERS CARDBOARD FIGURINE painted by the WURTZ family, second third of the 19th century, around 1815-1848. 31156-42

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 who became an antiquarian between the two world wars. To my knowledge, no biography or article has ever been published about this individual, who is nevertheless known to collectors and frequently cited in the provenance of historical objects of high quality. I will therefore open my archives to better introduce this great connoisseur:
"Mobilized during the First World War along with his brother in the infantry, his brother was killed at Verdun. Both shared the same tastes for military memorabilia; each of them 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 outside the preferred districts of antiquarians. He chose the specialty that had attracted him for a long time: military curiosities. The spark that led him to this specialty came from his first find: an officer's saber from the Consulate era, 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 highly cherished objects for a while. A knowledgeable connoisseur, he never made mistakes, and his clients benefited from his expertise. A passionate researcher, everything he discovered in his life was amazingly varied. Silent and modest, he had an art and a manner that left an indelible memory among the enthusiasts who knew him.
Like most dealers in military items of that time, Marcel Saint-Aubin did not have a store. He received clients in his apartment, with few objects present and they only occupied a temporary place. Generally, like Paul Jean, he would fetch the items he wanted to sell from the neighboring room and often presented them 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, at 16 rue Henri Pape, in the 13th arrondissement, once again, far from the district of antique dealers.
His love for the items he parted with was reflected even in the care he took in their packaging. Very skilled with his hands, he perfectly protected even the humblest items.
Marcel Saint-Aubin died 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 BACKGROUND:
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 easily multiply their numbers.
Christian Blondieau, in his book 'Petits soldats de plomb, d'étain, de papier, de carton ... 1765-1965 - Le guide du collectionneur' Editions Le Képi Rouge Paris 1996, provides information on cardboard soldiers:
"Contrary to paper soldiers intended more for children, often colored in a clumsy manner, cardboard soldiers were created for adults and provided a guarantee of great uniformological precision, serving as a basis for our modern documentation...
Why do the little soldiers from Alsace stand out? Because they were created by eyewitnesses of the time or their descendants in most cases, and are often contemporaneous with the era they represent.
During the wars of the Revolution and the Empire, the inhabitants of Strasbourg (then a garrison town) witnessed a large number of soldiers in colorful uniforms passing through their streets on their way to battle in Germany.
This influx of troops, which lasted for more than fifteen years, inspired some to capture these beautiful soldiers in action.
Alsatian authors all cite Benjamin Zix (1772-1811) as the precursor of this genre. Outpacing Léopold Beyer, the German Geisler, or the Austrian Klein, the Alsatian Zix provided a very realistic view of the soldiers of that era, as he himself was a combatant, roaming battlefields more often with a pencil than a rifle. He became an Officer and Illustrator for the Army.
From the peace of 1815 to the war of 1914, the Strasbourg artists continued this need to draw and paint from generation to generation..."
During the Napoleonic era, Strasbourg had around 30,000 inhabitants, with a permanent garrison of between 6,000 and 10,000 soldiers. The city also served as a passing point for numerous troops of the Revolution and the Grand Army heading to campaigns across the Rhine.
Among all these artists of that period, the three most well-known are: Thiébaut Borerst (often misspelled Boersch) (1782-1824), a miller who began drawing around 1800, the nephew of the painter Benjamin Zix, with his collection later auctioned in Angers on March 10, 1971. His style is probably the most refined that we know of. Eugène Nicollet (1802-1872), who painted soldiers from as early as 1817 (when he was 15 years old) for 55 years, with his collection preserved at the Museum of Compiègne. His style is more naive. Wurtz, to whom we dedicate a specific paragraph. Paul Schmidt, whose collection, housed in the Army Museum in Paris, notably depicts the National Guard soldiers from Strasbourg, among others.
Other artists worked in a similar manner, including Frédérik Schmidt (born in 1796). Additionally, names like Édouard Kratz (1803-1885), Schmidt's son (born in 1824), and Théodore Carl (born in 1837) are worth mentioning...

WURTZ-PEEZ COLLECTION (Würtz in German spelling):
Wurtz began documenting under the First Empire thanks to his friend J.P LÉvêque, a former surgeon of the Grand Army who had gathered significant documentation on Napoleon's armies. He started making his figurines in 1825 with the help of his son, then father-in-law Pees. The production continued with his son, who completed the "Napoleonic" collection under the Second Republic (1850), with some figurines we present bearing the date 1848 on the back of the cardboard. These figurines are of exceptional quality. According to Edward Ryan in his book 'Paper Soldiers the illustrated history of printed paper armies of the 18th, 19th & 20th centuries' (Golden Age Editions, London 1995), they represent "the most precise and comprehensive depiction of the troops of the First Empire." Each regiment is represented in all ranks and types of uniforms in an exhaustive manner, a rarity in the depictions of Strasbourg soldiers.
Wurtz's son, Frédéric Wurtz, likely provided details for uniforms he did not personally witness through other documentary sources. Following the fall of the Second Empire, Frédéric Wurtz refused to stay in Strasbourg under Prussian occupation and moved to Paris on Boulevard de Clichy, where he ran a pharmacy. After his death in 1898, most 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 chief military doctor; the figurines were exhibited in 1938 and have remained there since. Expert Christian Blondieau considers Wurtz's style comparable to that of Nicollet and Kratz.