Cécile Jules Basile Gérard, der Löwenjäger - Portrait

Estimated 1850-1860.
Good condition for the age
Atelier Thierry, Paris

Biography translation:

Born in Pignans in the Var on 14.6.1817, he joined at the age of 24 the corps of Spahis of Bône. He quickly earned a great reputation as a hunter, who bore the nickname "Lion Hunter." Thus he slew about 25 lions in a period of eleven years. For these deeds he received a rifle from the hands of the Duke of Aumale, son of King Louis Philippe. Thus he celebrated the heyday of hunting literature and around 1857 wrote largely fictionalized memoirs. It even serves as a model for Tartarin de Tarascon, the hunter and braggart whom Daudet describes.

Gérard is however also a soldier. During his time as Marshal of the Spahis, he distinguished himself during the Tebessa campaign in May 1846. On 19 June a column of a thousand men was attacked by Arabs and the Spahis attacked the native cavalry, drove them off and pressed on. In the engagement Gérard killed two Arabs with his own hand. It was in 1847 that he was knighted in the Legion of Honour.

On 5 September 1854 he was promoted to lieutenant, assigned to the 2nd Lancers Regiment, but to the Arab offices assigned. His reputation as a fine shot did not fade, for in October 1860 he won the prestigious Prix de Vincennes for shooting.

After the end of his military career he began a later career and received funding from the Geographic Society of London for an expedition to Sierra Leone. There he died in 1864; he was probably murdered by his bearers, who stole weapons, charges.