«Claude de Gidrol, «chef d’escadron» «, miniature, 1823

PLEASE READ SHIPPING DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY BEFORE BUYING! To learn more about us please click on our profile On view here is a miniature portrait of a relatively young (he looks about 30-35 years old) «chef d’escadron» (corresponding epaulettes) of one of two (no.1 and no.2) cuirassier regiments of the French «garde royale» from the period of the 2nd Bourbon Restoration (1815-1830; see our image nr. 7). The officer is decorated with the badges of two Royal awards – the Chevalier Cross of the Military Order of Saint-Louis and the Chevalier Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor. After a brief search in the annual issues (of the mentioned period) of three standard reference sources – «Annuaire de l’état militaire de France», «Annuaire officiel des officiers de l’armée active» and «Almanach Royal» we came across only two «Chef d’Escadrons» of both regiments, who were in possession of the above mentioned complect of awards: Hippolyte de Lahaye, comte de Plouer of the 1st regiment and Claude Jacques Vincent de Gidrol of the 2nd regiment. The first of them joined the Guards Cuirassiers on April 7, 1824 (as «Chef d’Escadron») being in possession of a single (!) award – the Chevalier Cross of the Legion of Honor (his Chevalier Cross of St- Louis will be awarded to him one and a half years later – in the second half of 1825). In contrast, his «competitor» de Gidrol (also as «Chef d’Escadron») joined the Guard Cuirassiers on May 26, 1823, and already held both of the above awards. Since the vast majority of such military portraits were ordered after gaining the next rank (new epaulettes) or after joining another unit (new uniform), we are inclined to candidate nr.2 – de Gidrol: he ordered this miniature shortly after May 26, 1823. Claude Jacques Vincent de Gidrol was born on February 2, 1786 in Aurec-sur Loire, départment Haute-Loire and died on September 24, 1843 at the age of 56. In 1822 he, already being in possession of both aforementioned awards, served as «captaine-commandant» in the chasseur-a-cheval regiment of the «garde royale» (see image nr. 8). On May 26, 1823, he was promoted to «chef d’escadron» and transferred to the 2nd Cuirassiers of the «garde royale» (see image nr. 9). This event, as we said above, was a perfect reason to immediately order a portrait showing him in his new uniform. He was 37 years old at that time (like his «competitor» Hippolyte de Lahaye). We add that still in 1821 he married Lucile Elisabeth Caroline («Coralie») de Villeneuve de la Roche-Barnaud (1790-1858) and had two sons with her. He left the military service (as a lieutenant colonel of his 2nd Cuirassiers) in 1830. Provenance: Collection Joly de Bonneville (Paris, 19th century – see image nr.11) Condition: good; in original ormolu frame Creation Year: 1823 Measurements: UNFRAMED: 6.0 cm x 5.0 cm / 2.4″ x 2.0″ Inches FRAMED: 18.5 cm x 14.5 cm / 7.3″ x 5.7″ Inches Object Type: Framed miniature Style: Portrait miniatures Technique: watercolor painting (oval) Inscription: – Creator: French SchoolCreator Dates: – Nationality: French Themes:RESTORATION FRENCH NAPOLEON EMPIRE STORY MALE PORTRAIT UNIFORM MILITARY PORTRAIT MILITARY SHIPPING OPTIONS: We ship priority registered regular Austrian mail within 2 working days after your purchase. Usually, shipping with regular Austrian mail takes 10-14 days (USA / Worldwide), 3-7days (Europe) and 1-2 days (Austria). Not depending on us (due to local customs, local post, etc) delivery may take longer. ***OBS: Austrian mail refunds cases of loss with maximum EUR 500. The shipping cost here is for an external full insurance of the item! PROFESSIONALLY PACKED (by Mail Boxes Etc.) and fully insured expedited service within 2-3 days is available upon request and subject to EXTRA CHARGES – please contact us before purchasing. When contacting us please refer to item #44181 lumai22