Alfred de DREUX (Paris, 1810 – Paris, 1860) - Lot 585

Alfred de DREUX (Paris, 1810 – Paris, 1860) Eugenia de Montijo in an Amazon pose, circa 1848/1850. Oil on canvas on its stretcher, with the following annotation in pen on the lower crossbar: “Donna Eugenia Guzman, Countess of Teba / later Empress of the French” by Alfred de Dreux; annotated on the upper crossbar with “De Dreux” in pencil. Monogrammed in the lower left corner. With its period frame of gilded and silvered molded wood, inscribed on one side panel: “The Countess of Montijo (later Empress of the French) on her favorite horse by De Dreux.” Height: 33.5 cm Width: 38.5 cm Notes: This previously unpublished painting, which may be one of the very first equestrian portraits of the future Empress, depicts the young Countess Eugénie de Montijo on her favorite bay horse prior to her marriage to Napoleon III in 1853. It displays the recognizable style characteristic of De Dreux’s sketches: a layer of paint applied directly to the canvas and an emphasis on contours, as can be seen on the rider’s face.