Valbrun was a French painter who specialized in portraits of the European aristocracy in the first half of the nineteenth century. He had trained at the studios of Nicolas Gosse (1787-1878) and Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835), straddling the periods between and Romanticism. Valbrun’s style was grounded in drawing, a detailed study of composition and the use of bright, contrasting colours, all of which can be readily seen here in this work. Equally worth mentioning is his technical dexterity, very much in line with , boasting an impeccable, painstaking finish that makes it virtually impossible to discern the individual brushstrokes, thus creating a veneer of distance with the beholder.

Signed and dated in the bottom left corner, the painting portrays Marie-Théodore de Gueilly Rumigny, Marquis of Rumigny, as borne out by the inscription Général Marquis de Rumigny / aide de camp de S.M. le Roy Louis Philippe, written by the artist himself. Rumigny was a leading general in the French army who had been appointed aide-de-camp to King Louis Philippe I (1773-1850) in 1818 and subsequently promoted several times. A loyal servant to the king, he fought on several occasions to defend him until the 1848 Revolution when the king was forced to abdicate and go into exile to the UK with his family. Rumigny left France with the king, and officially retired from his military career a few months later.

This painting was probably commissioned by the general himself at the time when he had reached his highest military rank. In 1831, the year this portrait was painted, the king appointed him general over the west of the country, a task which Rumigny carried out effectively thanks to a combination of firmness and moderation.

Standing in a solemn and elegant pose, Rumigny is depicted presiding over a battlefield. His military attire, on which we see the medal of the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur reflecting his rank of Commandeur, highlights his great prestige. In the background, one can glimpse a military formation—probably an allusion to one of the battles he led—and behind it a landscape rendered sketchily with dramatic light. It is worth pointing out that in the second half of the nineteenth century, more than a depiction of an actual setting, the various elements of the landscape were usually a creative invention of the artist. This allowed Valbrun to create a kind of theatrical backdrop that envelops the scene in a special atmosphere and endows the painting with a disquieting and melancholic air.

Also worthy of note is the quality of the original nineteenth-century frame, made in conifer wood with decoration and fine gold gilding using the techniques of and , thus combining gloss and matte finishes. It is typical of the late Bourbon Restoration period (1814-1830), with elements from the early stages of the so-called Louis-Philippe style—in reference to the aesthetic prevailing during the rule of King Louis-Philippe I—with a more harmonious and stylised ornamentation. These features, which coincide with the date of the painting, would lead us to believe that it is the original frame made specifically for the work. It was made using a very delicate technique, and consists of a central and an edge decorated with moulding. Worth underscoring is the decoration of the corners, with highly elaborate reliefs. In the centre is a palmette with scrolls surrounded by various motifs including rosettes, clusters and lotus flowers.