Portrait Of A Young Officer Of The King’s Regiment – Pastel From The Louis XVI Era

An elegant and rare half-length portrait of a young officer in the Royal Army, executed in pastel on paper at the end of the Ancien Régime (the reign of Louis XVI).

The officer is depicted in a three-quarter view within an oval medallion. He wears powdered hair tied with a black ribbon and a white woolen coat. The lapels and facings are “royal blue,” embellished with rich braiding and gold-embroidered buttonholes, characteristic of officers in the prestigious King’s Regiment (Infantry, whose colonel was the King). He wears an epaulet with gold fringe on his left shoulder.

The composition is enriched with notable narrative details: the young man holds a letter or missive in his right hand, while his bicorne hat with a white plume rests beside him. In the background, a green drape opens onto a subdued backdrop from which hangs a small medallion-style miniature portrait, suggesting a private or family commission. The work stands out for the remarkable freshness of its pigments and the delicacy of its textural rendering (the transparency of the jabot’s lace, the shimmer of the gold trimmings).

Technical Details

• Period: Louis XVI (18th century, circa 1775–1792)
• School: French
• Technique: Pastel
• Medium / Frame: Presented under its original glass in a large, period (late 18th century) oval frame made of molded and gilded wood
• Condition: Very good overall condition for a pastel of this period. Colors remain vivid and luminous. No major visible tears.

Pastel portraits of officers from the Ancien Régime belonging to a clearly identifiable regiment of the Crown are particularly rare. The King’s Regiment, an elite corps of the French infantry, lends undeniable historical significance to this work.