Paul Emile Léon Perboyre Paintings

PAUL EMILE LÉON PERBOYRE French, 1851-1929 Cuirassiers Sharing Wine with Rural Countryman Oil on canvas signed lower left "Perboyre" Item # 309ULM18A A rich historical painting that captures the heart and reality of the Franco-Prussian conflict, the scene depicts a troop of Cuirassiers stopping for the afternoon in a non-descript field in the French countryside. Presumably the owner of the field, an older man has come out in the heat of the afternoon to greet the soldiers with a basket of wine bottles, offering a glass to the officers while chatting casually with them. Perhaps he is a local guide offering a sense of what the soldiers might expect in the rural countryside, but more likely it is simply a moment of reprieve in the idyllic countryside and a distinct juxtaposition to the intensity and drama of Perboyre's battle scenes. The Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) was the last use of "cuirassiers" in the French army with uniforms characterized by the distinct helmets known as a "casque à crinière" featuring a plume of horsehair. The cuirassiers wore a breastplate (cuirass) and the red trousers were a standard part of the French military uniform...