Description
This sculpture was originally attributed to Antoine-Louis Barye (French, 1795-1875) but has recently been reassigned to Marochetti, an Italian sculptor who became a naturalized French citizen in 1841. During the reign of King Louis-Philippe (r. 1830-48), he received a number of important commissions from the state. After Louis-Philippe was deposed in 1848, he followed the ex-king into exile in London.
In 1840, Marocchetti was commissioned to create an equestrian monument to Napoleon I to mark the occasion of the return of the emperor's body to France. It was not until 1861 that the monument was unveiled in front of the Invalides by Napoleon III. The emperor is portrayed wearing his coronation robes and the collar of the order of the "Légion d'honneur."
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