Gaetano Gigante - Greek Soldier (corporal Of The Irregulars)

oil on paper applied to canvas, 47.5 x 31 cm
signed lower right: G. Gigante
on the back cartouche: Corporal of the Irregulars

The full-length portrait of the Greek soldier, the Corporal of the Irregulars, is an unpublished painting by Gaetano Gigante, an artist active in Naples between the 18th and 19th centuries, father of the famous landscape painter, Giacinto Gigante, considered to be one of the protagonists of the Posillipo School.
The soldier depicted is dressed in the Tsoliades uniform, for his opposition to the Ottomans during the period of the Turcocracy (1453-1821). The Corporal of the Irregulars refers to a figurative model stemming from the fervent patriotic participation in the phenomenon known as 'pro-Hellenism'.