Albert Constant Desenfans

ALBERT CONSTANT DESENFANS (Genappe, 1845 – Braine-l’Alleud, 1938).
“Le Cuirassier 1814,” 1870.
High relief in Carrara marble.
Signed and dated.
Measurements: 50 x 37 x 9.5 cm.

“Le Cuirassier 1814” draws direct inspiration from Théodore Géricault’s famous Romantic composition *Wounded Cuirassier Leaving the Battle (1814)*, one of the most iconic images of the Napoleonic epic. The scene depicts, with great dramatic intensity, a cuirassier who, after the battle, advances on foot while firmly holding the reins of his rearing horse—a highly dynamic composition in which the twisting of both figures accentuates the tension and pathos characteristic of Romanticism. The rectangular base enriches the ensemble with an elaborate military-themed ornamental program, decorated with two symmetrical pyramids of cannonballs and a central emblem consisting of crossed cannons framed by a radial arrangement of bayonets—elements that reinforce the piece’s distinct historical and heroic character.

Trained at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels under the tutelage of masters such as Louis Jehotte, Eugène Simonis, and Égide Mélot, Desenfans developed a solid career marked by his participation, beginning in 1866, in numerous Belgian and international salons. His body of work encompassed religious, mythological, and allegorical themes, as well as portraits, often inspired by drawings by Xavier Mellery. He also received major public commissions for iconic buildings such as the Hôtel de Ville in Brussels, the Maison du Roi, the Brussels Palace of Justice, and the Maison de la Province in Liège, and collaborated—alongside Thomas Vinçotte and Jef Lambeaux—on the decoration of the Arcades of the Cinquantenaire Park. In these more intimate works, created in various materials—stone, marble, plaster, and ivory—his technical precision and commitment to realistic representation are particularly evident; these qualities earned him recognition during his lifetime and continue to be valued in the contemporary art market.