Two Spanish Cavalrymen in Tricorn Hats, Villegas Lithograph, Madrid, 1861

An original hand colored lithograph of two Spanish cavalrymen in eighteenth century dress, drawn and lithographed by Villegas and printed by the Litografía Militar in Madrid for the Album de la Caballería Española of 1861. The lower margin is lettered "Villegas dibujó y litografió." at left and "Lit. Militar S. Bernardino 7. Madrid." at right, and the artist's signature is repeated in the stone at lower left.

Both riders wear black tricorn hats with red cockades and long blue coats. The rider on the left, seen from behind on a prancing dun horse, has a red and white braided bandolier, a rolled blue cloak behind the saddle and a straight sword held upright. The rider on the right, on a gray horse in a lively canter, wears a white belt across his chest, red waistcoat and cuffs and high black boots, and raises his sword as he turns toward the viewer. Trees and a low hill fill the left background, and the scene is enclosed by a ruled border with rounded corners.

The plate belongs to the Album de la Caballería Española, the illustrated history of the Spanish cavalry compiled by Serafín María de Sotto, Count of Clonard, and published in Madrid in 1861. The album follows the mounted arm of Spain from its early history to the reign of Isabel II, and its plates show the dress, arms and horse furniture of each period, so that a single sheet is at once a costume study, a military record and an equestrian picture.

The design was drawn on the stone over a buff tint, and the coats, facings, horses and ground were then colored by hand in watercolor, so the blues and reds sit richly on the warm paper. The tricorns and long skirted coats place these troopers in the age of the Bourbon reforms of the Spanish army, one of the most attractive periods covered by the album. Spanish costume plates of this quality are far scarcer than French and German ones, and this pair of riders in motion makes a handsome picture for a study, library or hallway.

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