Louis Antoine de Bougainville (November 12, 1729 – August 31, 1811) was a French scholar, military officer, and explorer. He was a brilliant mathematician, gained fame for himself fighting in the French and Indian War, he became the first Frenchman to circumnavigate the globe, and he conducted an extensive exploration of the South Pacific. Bougainville Island, where a ferocious battle took place during World War II, is named after him.

This is a drawing as he would have looked in his 20s during his service in the French and Indian War as a captain in the French Army and as the aide-de-camp to Gen. Louis Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm. Made using a combination of No.2 pencil, colored pencils, and markers. The portrait that you see is based upon several existing portraits of him from later in life (none of them being full portraits), especially his distinctive blue coat with the gold Celtic-style braiding.

For more info, read the following:

• Dictionary of Canadian Biography – “Louis Antoine de Bougainville”

Categories: History, Uncategorized

Tags: art, battle, Bougainville, Canada, colonial, Dieskau, Europe, France, French, French and Indian War, history, military, Montcalm, New York, North America, Seven Years' War