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This is an antique portrait engraving featuring General Charles Pichegru during the French Revolution in circa 1798. It was created by Philippe Lefèvre and printed by the printer Robert Lefèvre after a painting by Hilaire Ledru. Lost caption below: "Sold in Paris at Potrelle Md. D'estampes Rue Honoré N°54".
Jean-Charles Pichegru, born in Planches-près-Arbois (Franche-Comté) on February 16, 1761, was a distinguished major-general during the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1789 he was a non-commissioned officer in an artillery regiment. He moved quickly up the ranks, from brigadier general to major-general. Under his command, French troops overran Belgium and the Netherlands before fighting on the Rhine front. He headed the Army of the Rhine and Moselle’s campaign to secure the French frontier at the Rhine and to penetrate the German states. The unsuccessful 1795 campaign led to his removal from command. His royalist positions led to his loss of power and imprisonment in Cayenne, French Guiana during the Coup of 18 Fructidor in 1797. After escaping into exile in London and joining the staff of Alexander Korsakov, he returned to France and planned the Pichegru Conspiracy to remove Napoleon from power, which led to his arrest. He was found strangled in prison on April 6, 1804. Despite his defection, his surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 3.
Philippe Lefèvre, painter and engraver, was born in Abbeville and worked in Paris between the years 1770-1810. He engraved historical portraits.
Hilaire Ledru, was born February 19, 1769 in Oppy (Pas-de-Calais) and died May 2, 1840 in Paris. He was a French painter and draughtsman, best known for his portraits of Republican and Napoleonic generals. He exhibited a drawing of Napoleon at the Salon of 1796.
Source: Benezit, Dictionary of Artists; Wikipedia; Galerie historique de la Révolution française 1789-1793, Paris, 1849; Archives de France.
Artist: Philippe Lefèvre (actif 1770-1810).
Medium: Engraving on paper.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 28 x 18 cm. / 11 x 7 in.
Frame: 41.5 x 31 cm. / 16 ¼ x 11 ¼ in. Gilt wood, very good condition.
Origin: France.
