French Military, Napoleonic era
The red jacket, pale braiding and green trousers make this trumpeter stand out from ordinary French cavalry. Del Prado shows him on foot, allowing the clothing and instrument to be studied without a horse obscuring the lower body.
The tall hat, blue coat and white trousers make this Martinique guardsman a striking departure from European battlefield infantry. The photographed Black figure brings colonial society into a catalog that could otherwise make the Napoleonic era appear exclusively European.
The blue coat and red trousers challenge the usual visual shorthand for a Foreign Legion soldier. This Del Prado figure belongs to 1914 and offers a useful introduction to the Legion’s wartime volunteers in France.
The long blue coat, covered helmet and carried rifle make this corporal recognisably different from Del Prado’s French 1914 subjects. The figure is a compact study of the appearance associated with Verdun and the middle years of the war.
Del Prado presents Guynemer standing in uniform with his hands in his pockets. The relaxed pose gives a famous aviator a human scale and allows the story to move beyond a tally of victories.
The white kepi is familiar, but the submachine gun and field clothing place this legionnaire firmly after the world wars. The 1957 setting belongs to the Algerian War and deserves its own historical category.
A red fez, voluminous trousers and a short decorated jacket make the Zouave one of Del Prado’s most distinctive 1914 subjects. The silhouette introduces the North African connections of the French Army as well as the changing appearance of soldiers in industrial war.
NA087 builds a three-figure encounter around Sergeant Charles Ewart and the standard of the French 45th Line. It is a compact way to explore both a battlefield capture and the later memory created around it.
NA066 restores the horse to a group usually displayed around a stationary cannon. The mounted officer makes an artillery collection easier to understand as a mobile organisation with routes, orders and transport needs.
The telescope brings NA065 into a quieter part of an artillery action. This officer is watching and judging while the gun crews work, a useful contrast to the movement and noise suggested by the surrounding figures.
