In 1832 French portraitist Alexandre-Jean Dubois Drahonet was commissioned by William IV to paint one hundred pictures illustrating the uniform of the British Army. The Royal Collection retains most of this series. A photograph of the Equerry’s Room at Windsor Castle taken in around 1900 shows some of these paintings hanging together, framed in groups.

During the period of peace following the Napoleonic Wars, increasingly elaborate (and often quite impractical) military attire was devised, particularly by George IV. By the time William IV came to the throne in 1830, uniforms had become too expensive and were simplified and adapted once again. The result of these changes was codified and promulgated in the 1831 Dress Regulations. These paintings were intended to provide a visual record of the recent changes to military dress. Their value is not only historical, however, but also aesthetic: Drahonet produces lively, slightly elongated figures, capturing their facial expressions and setting them in a variety of organic poses.

Each painting in the series depicts a single figure against a neutral background. Although their uniform and accoutrements are the focus, the sitters are often identified by name, as well as regiment and rank. Shown here is Corporal Jonathan Cory of the Coldstream Guards, an infantry regiment named after the town on the Scottish border where they were assembled in the 17th century. 

Drahonet depicts Cory in a moment of action, aiming his musket at something beyond the picture frame. He wears the red coatee, bearskin and dark, Oxford Mixture trousers newly part of the Coldstream uniform (see 406929), although without the gold ornamentation of higher ranks. By painting the soldier from behind, Drahonet gives particular emphasis to the equipment he carries, including the knapsack bearing the Order of the Garter star, a bayonet in its scabbard and a cartridge pouch. The chain which can be seen dangling from his shoulder belt has a brush on the end, which was used for cleaning the musket.