3-015-936 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Trumpeter Of The Hussars, c1815-20. This figure’s uniform identifies him as a member of the hussars—notoriously fearless cavalry—in the French army. He sits astride his horse, at a distance from the raging battle, with his trumpet at his side. Trumpeters needed visibility to sound a charge or retreat, yet his isolation may also symbolize the widespread disillusionment with the French military after the fall of Napoleon in 1815.