Del Prado Lefebvre-Desnouettes, 1815: A Charging Pose and an Unsettled Career

Del Prado · France · 1815

The extended sabre pulls the eye forward while the horse stretches into motion. Red clothing and a green saddle covering make Del Prado’s Lefebvre-Desnouettes one of the most energetic mounted commanders in the range.

The weapon and horse point in the same direction, giving the model a clear line of movement. The plume rises behind the rider’s head, balancing the long blade. This is a figure that needs to be seen from the side; a head-on arrangement compresses the very features that make it distinctive.

A career that crossed borders

Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes commanded cavalry in Napoleon’s armies, including the mounted chasseurs of the Guard. His service was far from an uninterrupted succession of charges. Captured by the British at Benavente in December 1808, he spent time in England before escaping in 1812 and returning to Napoleon’s service.

He took part in the Russian campaign and subsequent fighting, then rallied to Napoleon during the Hundred Days in 1815. The model’s date belongs to that final return. The cavalry uniform and active pose evoke his military role, but do not identify a precisely documented instant at Waterloo.

The sabre sets the spacing

Measure the full length from the rear of the horse to the sword tip when planning a display. The base alone understates the space the figure occupies. Keep the blade clear of neighbouring standards, reins and raised weapons so that it cannot catch when another model is moved.

When inspecting a loose example, request a photograph taken along the sword rather than only across it. This makes a bend or replacement easier to see. Check the horse’s lower legs and the rider’s connection to the saddle, where repairs could alter the forward movement of the composition.

The Guard chasseur already in the catalog offers a particularly useful pairing: an ordinary mounted subject beside a named commander with a much more dramatic pose. Add the officer associated with Kellermann for another comparison of rank without assuming all three belonged to the same formation. The labels give those visual comparisons their historical meaning.

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