Napoleon Victor le Petit (1806 Metz-1881) Grognard soldier o - Lot 332

Napoleon Victor le Petit (1806 Metz-1881) Grognard soldier of Napoleon titled "Misère et Fierté" Original terracotta signed and dated on the left side of the terrace "Vr Lepetit-1860) small accidents and missing wooden pipe (which was not integral with the statuette), height 39/socle 11.5 x 11.5cm, full-length statuette depicting an Imperial-era soldier smoking a pipe and selflessly enduring the pangs of misery, perhaps half pay. He is leaning against a tree trunk, still wearing part of his uniform and pactage, leather gibern, unshaven calfskin haversack. He wears the Bicorne with its tricolor cockade and drooping plume, and a suit with a flared pomegranate fastening. Works preserved at the Musée de Metz, notably a statuette called "le Républicain", offer obvious compositional similarities. The wooden rifle is removable, as is our pipe, which is unfortunately missing. Napoléon Victor Lepetit (1806-1881) Completed his Tour de France as a journeyman at the age of 16. Back in Metz, he spent his spare time drawing and carving wood, hence his habit of adding carved accessories. He perfected his skills in the Hussenot workshops. The Metz Museum holds four terracotta groups by him (N°47 to 50). Cf: Mémoire de l'académie Impériale de Metz 1859-1860, p 507 to 512