Uniform van keizerlijke generaal 1795 - 1796

This is S.G. Casten’s watercolor and pen drawing of an Imperial General, captured in a sketchbook spread. This image invites us to consider the intricate relationship between identity and power. The general, mounted on a horse, embodies authority, his uniform a symbol of his status and role within the imperial structure. The horse, meticulously rendered, is not merely a means of transport but an extension of the general’s power. What’s absent here is as notable as what is included, as the artist refrains from any narrative or personal detail about the man himself. This depiction serves as a cultural artifact, reflecting the values and hierarchies of its time, and perhaps offering an unintentional look at the distance between the individual and the symbols they inhabit.