Kostuum van de Zwitserse Garde 1803 - 1808

Samuel Gränicher made this watercolor and pen drawing of the Swiss Guard uniform sometime around the late 18th century. It depicts a soldier in blue and yellow striped garb, complete with a feathered helmet and ornate halberd. What does it mean to represent military regalia so carefully? Gränicher was working at a time when the institution of the military was undergoing a series of radical changes. Across Europe and the Americas, older systems of aristocratic privilege were being challenged by revolutionary movements. Armies were no longer simply extensions of royal power, but reflections of national identity. This image can be understood as an attempt to preserve a certain vision of the military, one that emphasizes tradition, order, and hierarchy. It is useful for historians to consider this drawing in the context of wider debates about the role of the military in society. By researching the history of the Swiss Guard, we can learn a lot about the changing nature of power in the 18th century.