Italian Light Infantry

 

An integral part of any Napoleonic-influenced army is the light infantry. Taught to skirmish and fight in loose formation, the light infantry often became an elite unit. These Italian light infantry wear the traditional dark green associated with the branch. I've chosen to paint them a shade of green slightly lighter and more vibrant to tie together the theme of the Army of Italy, they are fighting in the sunny hills of Tuscany after all!

Figures are Old Glory French Legere regular and elites (in the bearskins). Light infantry grenadier companies would wear bearskins up through the 1809 campaign so it's both a historical and visual match. All light infantry was trained to skirmish, but the voltigeur companies excelled at this. Those are the fellows with the yellow plumes topped with red. 

Often our miniatures are static, however, with the light infantry, I wanted to evoke a sense of motion and activity. This formation is firing, reloading, and marching giving the viewer the sense of movement.