Henri Regnault Mort
10:57 PM
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| Carolus-Duran, Henri Régnault Mort, 1871-1872 |
Just outside the great city of Paris the bodies of young French men are piled. All of the faceless soldiers rot as if forgotten. Amongst these uniforms in Buzenval Park lays an artist. Henri Regnault is that artist. Henri Regnault did not live an extraordinary life. An aspiring artist born in Paris that studied hard and won Prix de Rome art award. Regnault’s many works all were attempts to recreate realistic likeness. Work’s like Automedon show Regnault’s skill through his muscular and wild depiction of his horses. His incredibly observant mind captured images as if it were an expressive camera. The once-unique mind shredded by a single bullet, and Henri Regnault sinks slowly into a pool of blood, sweat, and sludge. War reduced the creator of Automedon to another dead soldier. The Franco-Prussian War ended Henri Regnault, but it did not erase his memory. Henri Regnault lives on through his creations and through the paintings and music devoted to him by his close friends and colleagues. Carolus-Duran paints Regnault shortly after his final moments. The painting is not violent or heroic. The scene appears peaceful. This is no soldier dying in a final stand against the enemy. This is a man who died before his time. We look upon this painting as if Carolus-Duran were giving us a glimpse into Regnault’s funeral. Duran opens the casket of the battlefield and there lies his fellow artist, Henri Regnault.
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