Godefroy (Adrien Pierre)

Paris, Chez Martinet, c.1815.
a French early 19th century military costume satire, from the rare series ‘Armée des Souverains Alliés’, the army of the Allied Sovereigns which occupied France at the close of the Napoleonic War. A common tableau composition of figures in a line in various military uniforms, the group of three on the left comprising a very tall officer staring fixedly towards the viewer while a diminutive senior officer has to stand on a stool to deliver a slap to his face while a third officer looks on with relish. On the right, a similarly tall regular soldier stands in profile, wearing a skull cap with a pistol tucked in his belt, braces himself as an office swings a long cane to strike his back..
225 by 295mm (8¾ by 11½ inches).