Henri-Louis Dupray, Gendarmes on patrol

Henri-Louis DUPRAY (1841-1909), Gendarmes on patrol, circa 1880-1890. Oil on canvas signed "h. Dupray" at the bottom left. On the reverse, stencil mark of the colour merchant DUBUS, 60 Boulevard Malesherbes, Paris. Two mounted gendarmes ride side by side along a muddy country road. Wearing bicorne hats and wrapped in their dark cloaks, they ride a bay horse and a grey horse, respectively. Their silhouettes stand out against a vast rural landscape, while in the background, a man carrying a tool on his shoulder walks away along the path. The road, animated with puddles and reflections, curves gently to the right before disappearing into the countryside. The fields and meadows are rendered in a muted range of greens, ochres, and browns, under a low sky with pearl grey tones. Presented in a significant antique frame made of wood and gilded stucco, decorated with leafy scrolls, acanthus leaves, and relief flowers. Analysis and commentary: Henri DUPRAY is among the French military painters active in the second half of the 19th century. A student of Léon COGNIET and then Isidore PILS, he exhibited at the Salon from 1863 and became known for his military scenes, in which he pays particular attention to uniforms, the attitudes of men, and especially horses. He received several awards at the Salon and was made a knight of the Legion of Honour in 1878. The reverse of the canvas also provides a valuable material element for dating. It bears the stencil mark of the Parisian colour merchant DUBUS, established at 60 Boulevard Malesherbes. This establishment is documented at this address from the late 1870s to the late 1890s. This confirms an execution in the last quarter of the 19th century and makes a dating of circa 1880-1890 particularly coherent.