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Portrait officer in the Chasseur a Cheval c.1812
Description
An officer, possibly from the 31st Regiment of the Chasseur a Cheval (chamois was the colour collar for the 31st Regiment) wearing the ‘habit-veste’ that was introduced in the regulations of 1812. Showing no contre epaullette as was the mode in the Chasseur a Cheval. He wears the legion d’honneur with crown and without balls on the star points which indicates it is of the 2nd or 3rd type which where issued from 1806 up to 1811
History & Context
The distinctive chamois-coloured collar raises the possibility that he served with the 31st Regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval, for which chamois was the designated distinguishing colour, although the identification cannot be regarded as certain from the uniform alone. His single fringed epaulette is worn without a corresponding contre-épaulette, a configuration encountered among officers of the Chasseurs à Cheval. On his breast is the Légion d’honneur, suspended from its red ribbon; the crowned badge, with star points lacking terminal balls, appears consistent with the second or third Empire types produced between approximately 1806 and 1811. Its presence therefore indicates that the sitter had already received one of the Empire’s most important decorations before, or by the time, the portrait was painted. Taken together, the uniform and decoration suggest a date in the later Napoleonic period, probably c.1812–1815, and present the sitter as an established officer whose service extended back into the earlier years of the Empire.