"El Guil?" Topic

You see this name as the source for many depictions of the uniforms of the French army in Spain. The original artist is a very mysterious figure: perhaps a guerilla/monk it's suggested. But what of his original drawings or pictures? These seem to be even more of a mystery. Presumably they no longer exist, as one never sees them – only illustrations that purport to be based on them. When did they disappear?! What, if anything, is known about them?

English translation by google of the section from link "The mysterious "Manuscript of El Guil".
If there is a "manuscript" that is debated among uniformologists, it is certainly the so-called "El Guil" manuscript. Its origin is shrouded in mystery. Ernest Fort, who had it in his possession and published one of the first copies, claimed that the said manuscript was the work of a Spanish monk, an unverifiable assertion. Like the Hamburg Burgher's Manuscript, it was copied many times, notably by Henri Boisselier. The latter worked on commission for various wealthy sponsors. Thus, he multiplied the variants and – inevitably – the errors of interpretation (7).

The authenticity of the "manuscript" continues to be debated. Some see, at best, a composition, at worst, a "fake" manifesto, while others point, on the contrary, the multitude of authentic details. Thus, it should be noted that the officers represented in the "manuscript" are armed with rifles or carabiners, a detail confirmed by the Memoirs of Contemporaries (8)."

Notes say:
"(7) This is, in particular, the opinion of an anonymous correspondent of Jean Brunon, in the 1960s. His letter relating to the Manuscript, very extensive, is preserved in the library of the Musée de l'Empéri, Salon-de-Provence.

(8) Bernard Coppens also recalls that bullets – with a characteristic appearance – fired by Versailles carbines were found in detection on the battlefield of Waterloo."

From Napoleon Series Archive 2010:

"The so-called "El Guil Manuscript" depicting French soldiers in the Spanish Peninsula from 1808-1814 is actually a "phantom" source because the whereabouts of the original manuscript is unknown. As a result, when people refer to the Manuscript, they are invariably talking about one or more of the many sets of watercolors that purport to be accurate copies of the original El Guil pictures. The copyright for any particular copy lies with the owner of that copy. The Bibliotheque Nationale of France has nearly 200 different drawing based on El Guil by Ernest Fort (d. March 15, 1938), a one-time owner of the Manuscript.

Most of the information available about the El Guil Manuscript comes from an article written by Commandant Bucquoy entitled "La Vérité sur El Guil" that appeared in Le Passepoil, Vol. 18 (1938), No. 2, pp. 53-54. The article is based on, and quotes extensively from material provided by Monsieur Fort, who unfortunately passed away before he could complete his own article on the subject of this source. According to this material, Fort acquired the manuscript from Mme. Souza, the widow of a "commandant espagnol". Fort never said specifically when the acquisition took place, but it was probably around the turn of the century because he seems to have been in possession of the Manuscript when he became acquainted with Commandant Bucquoy in 1900-1904. Fort did say that he had no information about how the Manuscript came to be owned by Commandant Souza.

Fort disposed of the Manuscript sometime around 1923 under odd circumstances that have never been fully explained: "When I gave up the El Guil set of drawings 15 years ago, it was with the promise that they would be published one day. Since then, events have dispersed some, death has taken others, and I am still waiting . . .". The reference to "death" in the preceding sentence seems to indicate that Fort was writing about human beings rather than drawings. If that suggestion is correct, then it would appear that Fort gave the drawings to an unidentified group of individuals who gave him the promise of publication in return. Nothing has been heard about the drawings since then, so there is no reason to believe they are not still in existence held by an heir of one of the members of the group that acquired the Manuscript from Monsieur Fort."

See thread at link

For Le Passepoil (thanks to Markus Stein) see PDF link

Thank you very much indeed Prince of Essling: a truly intriguing mystery. It would be wonderful if all the Fort drawings were published. That would be as close to the originals as we are ever likely to get.