Oil on canvas.In this intriguing portrait, a gentleman has been depicted in formal officer’s attire of a black coat with a wide gold lapel with silver buttons and epaulettes, a white frilled chemise, stock and lace cravat. He is wearing a black bicorn hat decorated with braided cockade and a large black plume. Three aiguillettes are draped from the shoulder across his waistcoat and threaded through a button hole. A baton of command signifies an elevated rank and the badge of honour is similar to the L’Ordre de Saint-Esprit. There is a long history of military portraiture. Officer rank was understood as a means of upholding personal and familial honor, affirming the nobility’s service to the Crown and justifying its privileges. In France, this formula had lost some of its popularity by the late 18th century; the humiliating defeat of The Seven Years War had taken a toll on French military vanity and the nobility’s relationship with the King was increasingly adversarial. <...