Janos Rombauer painted a cavalry officer’s portrait in 1807. He depicted the nephew of the Duke of Courland - Prince Peter Biron - an educated person, well versed in history, who spoke five languages. He served in the cavalry, and participated in the war of the fourth coalition against Napoleon in 1806-1807.

There is little information about Peter Biron’s personality. There is a note in the collection of cavalrymen biographies that He has a broken leg, suffers strong aches in bad weather. During his military service, Biron once underwent a long treatment abroad and left the army in 1807.

The painter paid keen attention to the attire of the person depicted in the portrait. Under the Emperor Alexander I, the cavalry officers received new white uniforms, which were cut as tailcoats: they were double-breasted and featured high collars. They were called jerkins. They were complemented by a scarlet standing collar and cuffings - cuffs at the end of the sleeve. At that time, the helmet was made of thick black patent leather which protected the head from blows. The headpiece was decorated with a magnificent plume of horsehair.

Rombauer singled out the protagonist’s costume with bright color accents, painting the background in neutral shades. But in spite of the subdued colors, the landscape background plays an important role here. We can see the mountains and the high sky behind the officer’s back.

The motif of large-size nature is one of the characteristic features of romanticism - the artistic trend of the late 18th - early 19th century. Strong passions and the elements as well as everything unusual and unexplored attracted the romanticists. The artists revealed special features of each hero in their romantic portraits, trying to capture the feelings of their models. Janos Rombauer was inspired by the ideas of romanticism: although Peter Biron is depicted as a serious military man, the artist succeeded in conveying the fragility of the young man, his subtle features and attentive gaze.