Trumpeter Thomas Jagger, 1st Life Guards 1832
Oil on card | 35.0 x 25.4 x 0.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 407040
Alexandre-Jean Dubois Drahonet (1791-1834)
Trumpeter Thomas Jagger, 1st Life Guards 1832
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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. Seen here is trumpeter Thomas Jagger of the 1st Life Guards, part of the Household Cavalry. From his outstretched trumpet hangs a gold-fringed red banner showing the Royal Arms. In the 19th century, the trumpeter’s role within the cavalry squadron was not purely ceremonial, as they also transmitted the commander’s orders on the field of battle.Although much of this uniform is the same as that worn by others in the 1st Life Guards – red coatee, cuirass and dark blue trousers with a double scarlet stripe – several features distinguish the trumpeter’s dress, namely the large gold epaulettes and the gold and blue zigzag pattern on the collar and cuffs. The short gloves, rather than longer gauntlets, made it easier to handle the trumpet. Although wearing a steel helmet instead of a bearskin was quite common at this point, the red crest (rather than black) distinguishes Jagger’s role as trumpeter.
Provenance
Commissioned by William IV; recorded in the Equerries Room at Windsor Castle in 1878
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on card
Measurements
35.0 x 25.4 x 0.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
JSS 13