Gentleman in a Dark Blue Uniform

This picture of an officer in a dark blue uniform with red piping on the collar, golden aiguillettes, and a golden epaulette on the left shoulder, was painted in Paris in 1821. The sitter is wearing the Order of the Legion of Honour as well as the Order of the Phoenix of the House of Hohenlohe, on the left breast of his coat.

The military commissioned Pauline Augustin, student and wife of the famous miniaturist Jean-Baptiste Jacques Augustin (1759–1832), to paint this portrait. We can assume that the sitter visited her in her studio at 25 rue Croix-des-Petits-Champs, where the artist couple had occupied the first floor since 1805. Even though Pauline was exceptionally talented, she was overshadowed by her husband and left behind a significantly smaller oeuvre. To distinguish her work from her husband’s, she always signed her paintings with her first name.

Pauline generally made drawings of her sitters before she began painting on ivory. She captured the model’s posture and sketched the hairstyle and other details which she wanted to render precisely. This portrait was prepared in the same manner. A sketchbook which continues to be in her family’s possession to this day includes sketches of the uniform, the medal of the Order of the Phoenix, and the buttons. The drawings show in great detail a helmet and sword surrounded by leaves embossed on the buttons, and the bird rising from the flames and the inscription are clearly recognisable on the medal. A separate sketch shows the sitter’s pose and the adornments of the uniform.

B. P.