This attractive little portrait of a French soldier was painted by Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761-1845), who was perhaps France's most accomplished portraitist of the Napoleonic era. He portrayed a large variety of people, ranging from the great and the good (for example, the revolutionary leader Robespierre) to ordinary citizens who wanted to be depicted by the great portraitist.
Boilly achieved renown as well for his genre paintings and work representing Parisian street life. He had a playful approach to art, sometimes producing works that were considered distinctly risqué, as well as having a penchant for fiendishly clever trompe l'oeils.
We do not know the identity of the soldier in this portrait, who was a captain in the Horse Chasseurs, a light cavalry regiment of the imperial guard. This was an elite regiment during the period of the First French Empire (1804-14). It provided personal escort to Napoleon, who often wore its uniform in recognition of their loyalty and service to him. Boilly painted a relatively large number of soldiers' portraits, which might have had something to do with the fact that his sons, Simon and Felix, were engaged in the army during the Napoleonic era.
Boilly's ability as a portraitist is on full show here. The face wears a lively expression, with the hair appearing tangibly real. The pouting lips make it almost seem as if the young man is whistling. The use of colour, with the red piping of the dress uniform contrasting nicely with the gold aiguillette across the coat and the blue satin ribbon of the military medal, indicates how gifted Boilly was at suggesting depth and perspective.
Although the artist is rightly famous in France, international attention for his art has also been growing recently, with an exhibition of his work being held at London's National Gallery in 2019 [1].
_______________
1. Boilly. Scenes of Parisian life, National Gallery, London, 28 February to 19 May 2019.
Boilly achieved renown as well for his genre paintings and work representing Parisian street life. He had a playful approach to art, sometimes producing works that were considered distinctly risqué, as well as having a penchant for fiendishly clever trompe l'oeils.
We do not know the identity of the soldier in this portrait, who was a captain in the Horse Chasseurs, a light cavalry regiment of the imperial guard. This was an elite regiment during the period of the First French Empire (1804-14). It provided personal escort to Napoleon, who often wore its uniform in recognition of their loyalty and service to him. Boilly painted a relatively large number of soldiers' portraits, which might have had something to do with the fact that his sons, Simon and Felix, were engaged in the army during the Napoleonic era.
Boilly's ability as a portraitist is on full show here. The face wears a lively expression, with the hair appearing tangibly real. The pouting lips make it almost seem as if the young man is whistling. The use of colour, with the red piping of the dress uniform contrasting nicely with the gold aiguillette across the coat and the blue satin ribbon of the military medal, indicates how gifted Boilly was at suggesting depth and perspective.
Although the artist is rightly famous in France, international attention for his art has also been growing recently, with an exhibition of his work being held at London's National Gallery in 2019 [1].
_______________
1. Boilly. Scenes of Parisian life, National Gallery, London, 28 February to 19 May 2019.
Portrait of a soldier
Oil on canvas
20,5 x 15,3 cm
Provenance
Private collection, France;Private collection, UK
Literature
Étienne Bréton and Pascal Zuber, Boilly. Le peintre de la société parisienne de Louis XVI à Louis-Philippe, Paris 2019, II, p.822 and 823 (repr.) as 1607 PP (Portrait d'une capitaine chasseur à cheval de la garde impériale).
This attractive little portrait of a French soldier was painted by Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761-1845), who was perhaps France's most accomplished portraitist of the Napoleonic era. He portrayed a large variety of people, ranging from the great and the good (for example, the revolutionary leader Robespierre) to ordinary citizens who wanted to be depicted by the great portraitist.
Boilly achieved renown as well for his genre paintings and work representing Parisian street life. He had a playful approach to art, sometimes producing works that were considered distinctly risqué, as well as having a penchant for fiendishly clever trompe l'oeils.
We do not know the identity of the soldier in this portrait, who was a captain in the Horse Chasseurs, a light cavalry regiment of the imperial guard. This was an elite regiment during the period of the First French Empire (1804-14). It provided personal escort to Napoleon, who often wore its uniform in recognition of their loyalty and service to him. Boilly painted a relatively large number of soldiers' portraits, which might have had something to do with the fact that his sons, Simon and Felix, were engaged in the army during the Napoleonic era.
Boilly's ability as a portraitist is on full show here. The face wears a lively expression, with the hair appearing tangibly real. The pouting lips make it almost seem as if the young man is whistling. The use of colour, with the red piping of the dress uniform contrasting nicely with the gold aiguillette across the coat and the blue satin ribbon of the military medal, indicates how gifted Boilly was at suggesting depth and perspective.
Although the artist is rightly famous in France, international attention for his art has also been growing recently, with an exhibition of his work being held at London's National Gallery in 2019 [1].
_______________
1. Boilly. Scenes of Parisian life, National Gallery, London, 28 February to 19 May 2019.
Boilly achieved renown as well for his genre paintings and work representing Parisian street life. He had a playful approach to art, sometimes producing works that were considered distinctly risqué, as well as having a penchant for fiendishly clever trompe l'oeils.
We do not know the identity of the soldier in this portrait, who was a captain in the Horse Chasseurs, a light cavalry regiment of the imperial guard. This was an elite regiment during the period of the First French Empire (1804-14). It provided personal escort to Napoleon, who often wore its uniform in recognition of their loyalty and service to him. Boilly painted a relatively large number of soldiers' portraits, which might have had something to do with the fact that his sons, Simon and Felix, were engaged in the army during the Napoleonic era.
Boilly's ability as a portraitist is on full show here. The face wears a lively expression, with the hair appearing tangibly real. The pouting lips make it almost seem as if the young man is whistling. The use of colour, with the red piping of the dress uniform contrasting nicely with the gold aiguillette across the coat and the blue satin ribbon of the military medal, indicates how gifted Boilly was at suggesting depth and perspective.
Although the artist is rightly famous in France, international attention for his art has also been growing recently, with an exhibition of his work being held at London's National Gallery in 2019 [1].
_______________
1. Boilly. Scenes of Parisian life, National Gallery, London, 28 February to 19 May 2019.
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