Uniform, command and memory

The military portrait combines resemblance, rank and function: uniform, decorations and posture transform a person into an image of authority.

From the standard bearer of the 17th century to the general of the 19th century, military portraiture constructs an identity from precise signs. Shoulder pads, saber, command staff, plaques and ribbons indicate weapon, rank, campaign or distinction. But artists do not only paint a uniform: the face, hand and attitude suggest experience, discipline, fatigue or ambition. Depending on the era and the country, the officer can appear in a court setting, in front of a battle landscape, on board a ship or in the sobriety of a neutral background. The collection brings together generals, colonels, captains and admirals, known or anonymous, and allows official portraits, dynastic memories and individual psychology. The "Military and Officer Portraits" selection notably compares General Gutiérrez de la Concha and Colonel Joaquin Marquez de Prado. His reading favors drawing.

In an officer's portrait, every detail is a language: metal, color and posture tell the story of a career even before the name.