Cavalry Charge

Cavalry Charge from c. 1840 is one of Raffet's most accomplished military drawings, depicting a cavalry charge in the multi-colored chalk medium that he used for his most ambitious works on paper. The colored chalk allows Raffet to render the uniforms, horses, and dust of a cavalry charge with a vividness that black chalk alone cannot match, and the large scale of the drawing demonstrates that Raffet's military subjects were conceived as finished works of art rather than preparatory studies. The c. 1840 date places this in Raffet's most productive period, when he was producing the military subjects that made him one of the most popular illustrators of Napoleon's campaigns.

Raffet's Cavalry Charge is one of the most accomplished military drawings of the 19th century because it demonstrates the vividness and scale that colored chalk allows. The drawing's large scale and vivid coloring demonstrate that Raffet's military subjects were conceived as finished works of art rather than preparatory studies, and the multi-colored chalk medium allows a specificity of military detail that makes the drawing invaluable as a document of cavalry uniforms and equipment.

Cavalry Charge is Raffet's military draftsmanship at its most vivid: a cavalry charge rendered in multi-colored chalk with the specificity of military detail and the scale of a finished work of art. The c. 1840 drawing demonstrates that Raffet's military subjects were conceived as ambitious art rather than preparatory studies.