 Aside
from the fact that this is a beautiful silhouette of the
highest quality, the subject, an American Army officer
in his full dress uniform, makes this silhouette a fine
and rare example of historic Americana from the first
half of the 19th century. Although the name of the
officer is unknown, his youthful appearance seems to
indicate that this is a junior officer, perhaps a recent
graduate of the United States Military Academy at West
Point, recently commissioned into the Army.
Indicators that date the uniform to the period circa
1830-1850 include the high embroidered collar, large
shoulder board with heavy brush fringe, wide cuffs at
the wrist, striped pants and an officer's sash, belt and
sword.
Silhouettes with gilt embellishments, as seen on this
example, represent the height of expertise and quality
in this form of art. This particular example is a
masterpiece of the type. Without the very precise, fine
gilt highlights, the silhouette would be formless and
impossible to distinguish as an American Army officer.
But due to the tremendous attention to detail by the
artist, the resulting image is almost lifelike. Despite
the fact that the name of the officer is unknown, the
silhouette is particularly appealing because it could
represent any officer of the day. Those serving in
the Army during this period formed the backbone of the
officer corps for both the Union and Confederacy in the
Civil War just two decades later. The silhouette
of Isaac Ingalls Stevens, West Point Class of 1839 (IAS-00023),
is another outstanding example from the same period,
also exhibiting gilt embellishments and similar
watercolor shadowing at the feet. |
