A mounted officer of the Engineers with map in hand is seeking directions from a peasant tending his flock with a dog. Another mounted soldier is visible in the background.
A pen and ink drawing of this subject, now in a private collection in Boulogne-sur-Mer, dated 1876, was published by Deneuville in "Croquis Militaires," Paris, 1876, plate 16. This drawing may be the "Paysan donnant des renseignements à des officiers français," listed in the Deneuville Sale, Paris, 1886, no. 256.
<bdi><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Alphonse_de_Neuville" class="extiw" title="w:en:Alphonse de Neuville"><span title="French painter (1835-1885)">Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville</span></a>
</bdi>
1876<div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1876-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
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