Cuirassier with Drawn Sword

This bronze sculpture presents a dramatic moment of military action—a mounted cuirassier (a heavily armored cavalry soldier) with sword drawn, captured in dynamic motion. The work dates from around 1875 (though this cast was made after 1891), coinciding with Ernest Waterlow's early career years. Waterlow is best known today as a landscape painter who would go on to become President of the Royal Watercolour Society and a Royal Academician, making this sculpture a fascinating departure from his later celebrated work. Created during the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), when military subjects held particular resonance in European art, this piece captures the drama and nobility associated with cavalry warfare. The cuirassier's drawn sword and the implied movement of horse and rider convey both the violence and heroism of battle, reflecting the complex attitudes toward military glory in the late 19th century. The bronze medium allows for rich detail in the soldier's armor and equipment while capturing the sense of arrested motion—a split-second moment frozen in metal. This work represents an important but lesser-known aspect of Waterlow's artistic range, created when he was in his mid-twenties and still exploring different artistic directions before settling into the landscape painting that would define his career.