The son of a dragoon in the Republican army, a friend of the poet Pierre Berange, the talented painter and draughtsman Nicolas Charlet knew all about the difficult life of soldiers and the way they passed their free time. Soldier and Boys is one of his numerous genre scenes on the life of the veterans of the Napoleonic wars, scenes which brought him great popularity. The tipsy cavalryman is mounted on an upturned stool and, resting his left arm on the table with its scattered jugs, bawls out a song, so caught up in it that he does not notice the children playing with his helmet. The painting attracts us with its realistic treatment of this entertaining subject, revealing keen observation in the faces, cuirasses, gloves and household items, and also with its good-natured humour and daring painterly style.