Hussar Officer, Berlin Cook and Cuirassier Trumpeter with the Rügen Cliffs, 1842

An original antique lithograph, hand colored, from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). The upper image shows a country road with three figures. At left a hussar officer in a tall red shako with a plume, a blue jacket with gold frogging and a gold laced pelisse rides a dappled gray horse with an ornate shabraque. In the center a young woman in a white cap, a blue bodice with an orange kerchief and a long white apron carries a basket of greens and a pair of birds. At right a cuirassier in a brass helmet with a red crest rides a brown horse and blows a trumpet, with a stone wall, a cypress and a building behind him. The lower image shows tall pale cliffs topped with green rising from the sea, with rocks in the foreground water, birds overhead and a sailing ship on the horizon under a gray sky.

The lettering reads "Tav 80" at upper left, "GERMANIA" in the center and "Tom IV" at upper right. The upper caption reads "Officiale degli Ussari. Cuoca Berlinese Trombetta dei Corazzieri" (Officer of the Hussars, Berlin Cook, Trumpeter of the Cuirassiers), and the lower "Promontorio dell'isola Rugia" (Promontory of the Island of Rügen).

Rügen, Germany's largest island, lies in the Baltic Sea and is known for its white chalk cliffs. Hussars were light cavalry in braided jackets, and cuirassiers heavy cavalry with helmets and breastplates.

The mix of figures and seascape suits a study or a collection of German and Baltic views.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.