Armand-Jacques Leroy de Saint-Arnaud, Marshal of France

The portrait of Armand-Jacques Leroy de Saint-Arnaud was painted by Charles-Philippe Larivière in 1854 and first shown at the Salon of 1855. It entered the collection of the Museum of the History of France where it remains on display at the Château de Versailles. The work measures 215 cm by 140 cm and is executed in oil on canvas, depicting the marshal with his map, hat, and sword.

Its provenance traces a direct path from the artist’s studio to the French state, which acquired it for the national collections in the late nineteenth century.

The painting is catalogued in the Joconde database under inventory number MV 1997, INV 10225, MI 101, confirming its status as a museum-held object.

The painting is held by the musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon in Versailles, a component of the Museum of the History of France. Its inventory numbers are MV 1997, INV 10225, and MI 101.

The work was exhibited at the Salon of 1855.

Charles‑Philippe Larivière’s 1854 oil portrait presents Armand‑Jacques Leroy de Saint‑Arnaud, a 19th‑century French marshal. The figure stands before a table draped in green, his right hand resting on a spread map and his left gripping a sword, while his uniform, black with gold embroidery and a red chest sash, signals his high military rank. The composition is held by the Palace of Versailles collection.

Larivière, known for his historical and military subjects, produced the painting during a time when France was consolidating its imperial identity under Napoleon III. Portraits of high‑ranking officers served both commemorative and propagandistic functions, reinforcing the prestige of the military elite within the broader narrative of national power.