Focus on this artwork and explain the Description.
This painting depicts a scene set in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars. Two rows of cuirassiers await the signal to charge, with five non-commissioned officers in front of them also ready. They are wearing the distinctly coloured uniforms of the 12th Cuirassier Regiment. On the left, a Division General in a tail-coat and distinctive gold and scarlet sash is pointing, while addressing a cuirassier officer, probably the Colonel of the 12th Regiment. Behind them stands a trumpeter in yellow, an aide-de-camp to the Division General in a hussar-style uniform, and two more cuirassiers. On the right, a group of artillerymen are moving in front of a row of houses. In the far distance, on a hill between the second and third non-commissioned officer from the right, Napoleon can be seen and his chief of staff.Meissonier's intention was not to depict a specific battle, but rather a celebration of the cuirassiers of the First French Empire.
Napoleon hussar Cuirassier First French Empire 12th Cuirassier Regiment Napoleonic Wars cuirassier Division General aide-de-camp Colonel Napoleonic non-commissioned officers