This sober likeness of French officer Laurent Bernard Pool is one of the earliest examples of Neo-Impressionist portraiture. The artist lavished great detail on Captain Pool’s facial features and impeccable uniform. Pool wears the cross of the Legion of Honor; his receipt of the award in 1886 was probably the inspiration for the portrait.
Dubois-Pillet was Pool’s friend and fellow soldier—a self-taught painter who created only a few works in the style before dying of smallpox.
The background is a Central Asian prayer rug from the artist’s studio. Its intricate pattern presents a challenging application of Neo-Impressionism’s dotted brushwork.
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