The Charging Chasseur

                                              

 

Theodore Gericault “The Charging Chasseur”

Moving on from Mannerism, this next transformation is straight out of Romanticism. It is instantly recognizable. A dashing cavalier of Napoleon’s army, this iconic figure has been crafted in miniature many times.

Looking at the painting, I note that the figure and horse pose is really slanted to give only one singular view. Both figure and horse heads are turned in the same direction. Furthermore, there appears to have been some foreshortening in the anatomy as well. An all-round view would highlight 3D anatomical distortions to achieve this pose.

So I've decided to sculpt my piece to be seen from one viewpoint only and in a framed shadow box. To speed up the work, I will be using bits and pieces from discarded projects. This keeps the cost down and gives me a chance to clear out the spares box.

I've pinned and assembled the pieces together to capture this pose.

Later, I substituted an old Airfix 10th hussar head and so far, only the torso was previously unused. All other parts were cannibalised from failed projects.

I added new hands to the pin inserts. Hence, there was no point in using pristine Historex spares as I am using these as armature parts. 

I did use Historex parts for scale reference. However, their proportions had to be amended. For example, the shabraque and the chasseur busby were sculpted as in the painting rather than the Historex part. I also added a left leg to the figure, probably visible if one peered around the sides. The horse head was further sculpted. More musculature was added to the horse as per the painting. The tail was a piece of wire covered with putty.

 

After examining the piece against the painting, more adjustments were made to the horse’s rump and repositioning of the tail and chasseur head. I redid the front portion of the shabraque. More importantly, I extended the horse's left leg with wire and resculpted the leg.

I selected an A5 photo frame and knocked up a shadow box to fit within the frame. Then I created a simple background out of cardboard and white glue paste and stuffed it into the box.

I painted the shabraque and parts of the figure in artist oils, adding some shadows and highlights. The figure will be placed inside a shadowbox but without lights as this is a small and shallow shadowbox. The figure was pinned to a cork and the pic shows the proposed angle at which the figure should be viewed. This foreshortening hopefully clarifies why I overextended the horse's rear left hind leg.

      
I pinned the figure to the background and then framed it to check for placement. Some defects in the background were corrected with putty.

                        

Careful study of this painting shows some battlefield debris and another mounted chasseur in the background. This smaller mounted chasseur was painted on thin copper sheet which was cut out in relief and pasted to the background. Some bent lead strips and a discarded cannon barrel and wheel were also added. These were all blended into the bkgd painting. 

                                                          

Following another round of critical evaluation, the horse and figure were further resculpted in areas including the rump and shabraque. More details were now added to this piece in stages.

The sabretache, scabbard and sword blade were added from pristine parts. I added a tiny drilled spur to the boot.

Artificial hair was added onto the mane and tail and trimmed. Some froth (UHU) was simulated and added to the horse's mouth. The horse and figure were now fixed to the background which was further touched up and final painting was done on the piece.

When the paint had dried, the frame and glass cover were attached to complete the display. 

I fitted magnetic latches on the box and frame and it is now completed. I have taken several pics from different angles. Although it is very clear visually, the camera lens always catches the glare. Weird.



Thanks for watching.