Antoine-Jean Gros was a French painter during the late 18th and early 19th century. By the time he was 20 he had been accused of sympathizing with French royalists during the revolution and fled the country to Italy.
Meeting A Muse
It was in Milan that Gros met Napoleon, who would later be the subject of some of the most renowned work Gros would complete. At the end of the 18th century the artist made his way back to France where his portraits of Napoleon were celebrated and he was honored.
As his life wore on his work declined & so did his critical acclaim. A broken man he took his own life by throwing himself into the Seine in 1835.
Not About The Horses
Like a lot of the older art we feature, horses are clearly not the central subject of Antoine-Jean Gros’ work. They are actually used as a prop, to show the strength and nobility of those who ride them.
Achille Charles Louis Napoléon, Crown Prince of Naples, Hereditary Prince of Berg, 2nd Prince Murat (Italian Achille Carlo Luigi Napoleone Murat; 21 January 1801 – 15 April 1847) was the eldest son of Joachim Murat, King of Naples (and brother-in-law to Napoleon Bonaparte by marriage to sister Caroline Bonaparte) during the First French Empire and later in life mayor of Tallahassee [Florida] in the United States.