Portrait of Archduke Charles | |
---|---|
Artist | Thomas Lawrence |
Year | 1819 |
Type | Oil on canvas, portrait painting |
Dimensions | 270.1 cm× 179.5 cm(106.3 in× 70.7 in) |
Location | Royal Collection, Windsor Castle |
Portrait of Archduke Charles is an 1819 portrait painting by the English artist Sir Thomas Lawrence of the Austrian general Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. [1] [2] [3] A member of the House of Habsburg he was the younger brother of Francis I of Austria. During the Napoleonic Wars he has commanded Austrian forces in the Allied coalitions against the French Empire. He won a notable victory against Napoleon at the Battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809 before his defeat at the Battle of Wagram.
Lawrence was Britain's leading portrait painter of the Regency era. From 1814 he was commissioned by the Prince Regent to paint the leading members of the coalition that defeated Napoleon. He painted this work on a visit to the Austrian capital Vienna in 1819. Amongst others he painted on this trip was his Portrait of Francis I of Austria and a Portrait of Napoleon II, the great nephew of Charles. [4]
He shows the Archduke wearing the white and red military uniform of Austria, and decorated with the Order of the Golden Fleece and the Military Order of Maria Theresa. Influenced by the military portraits of Joshua Reynolds, it show the archduke as towering figure despite his relatively short stature in real life. Today part of the Royal Collection, it hangs in the Waterloo Chamber of Windsor Castle as part of a series of twenty eight paintings produced by Lawrence. [5]
Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the younger brother of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor. He was epileptic, but achieved respect both as a commander and as a reformer of the Austrian army. He was considered one of Napoleon's most formidable opponents and one of the greatest generals of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Sir Thomas Lawrence was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at the Bear Hotel in the Market Square. At age ten, having moved to Bath, he was supporting his family with his pastel portraits. At 18, he went to London and soon established his reputation as a portrait painter in oils, receiving his first royal commission, a portrait of Queen Charlotte, in 1789. He stayed at the top of his profession until his death, aged 60, in 1830.
Thomas Phillips was a leading English portrait and subject painter. He painted many of the great men of the day including scientists, artists, writers, poets and explorers.
Karl Philipp, Fürst zu Schwarzenberg was an Austrian Generalissimo and former Field Marshal. He first entered military service in 1788 and fought against the Turks. During the French Revolutionary War, he fought on the allied side against France and in that period rose through the ranks of the Imperial Army. During the Napoleonic Wars, he fought in the Battle of Wagram (1809), which the Austrians lost decisively against Napoleon. He had to fight for Napoleon in the Battle of Gorodechno (1812) against the Russians and won. During the War of the Sixth Coalition, he was in command of the allied army that decisively defeated Napoleon in the Battle of Leipzig (1813). He participated in the Battle of Paris (1814), which forced Napoleon to abdicate.
The Waterloo Chamber, dating from 1830 to 1831, is a large room in Windsor Castle dedicated to the military defeat of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte by British, Prussian, Russian, and Austrian forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo.
Portrait of Queen Charlotte is a 1789 portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the British queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Portrait of the Duke of Wellington is a portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the Anglo-Irish soldier and politician the Duke of Wellington. It was begun in early 1815 following Wellington's success in the Peninsular War and shortly before his victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo and the subsequent allied occupation of France under Wellington's command. It is now in the collection of Apsley House, the Duke's London residence. Wellington is shown in military uniform displaying various honours including the Order of the Garter, the Order of the Golden Fleece and the Order of the Bath. He has been described as "impassive and aloof" in the painting. Lawrence's depiction of Wellington was used on the British five pound note between 1971 and 1991.
Portrait of Charles X is an 1825 portrait painting by the British artist Sir Thomas Lawrence depicting the reigning French monarch Charles X. Following the French Revolution that saw his eldest brother overthrown and executed, Charles has spent many years in exile including a period in Britain. His brother Louis XVIII was restored to the throne with British assistance in 1814 and then again in 1815 following the Battle of Waterloo. Charles, as his heir, led the conservative Ultra-royalist faction in French politics. When his brother died in 1824 he succeeded to the throne. The last member of the House of Bourbon to reign, he had an elaborate coronation in Reims in May 1825. The same year Charles was painted in his coronation robes by the French artist Robert Lefèvre.
The Portrait of Marshal Blücher is an 1814 portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher.
Portrait of Lord Liverpool is a work by the English artist Thomas Lawrence depicting the British politician and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool.
Sir Charles Stewart is an 1812 portrait by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the Irish soldier and diplomat Charles Stewart. Stewart was a career soldier who had served in the Peninsular War as Adjutant General to Allied commander Lord Wellington. Stewart had returned home from Portugal when he posed for the portrait and was subsequently appointed British Ambassador to Prussia, launching a diplomatic career that saw him play a key role in forming the alliance that defeated Napoleon and attending the Congress of Vienna. He is shown in hussar uniform, a branch of light cavalry that became prominent during the Napoleonic Wars. He wears his Peninsular Medal earned for his service over the past four years.
The Portrait of Prince Metternich is a painting by the British artist Thomas Lawrence of the Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich. Lawrence painted many European leaders involved in the alliance against Napoleon's French Empire.
The Duke of Richelieu is an 1818 portrait painting by the British artist Sir Thomas Lawrence of the French Prime Minister Armand Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, 5th Duke of Richelieu. Richelieu was a leading statesman in Restoration France serving twice as premiere during the reign of Louis XVIII, having previously spent many years in exile. It was painted during the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle.
The Portrait of Francis I of Austria is a painting by the British artist Sir Thomas Lawrence depicting the Austrian Emperor Francis I.
The Marquess of Wellesley is a portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the Irish statesman Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley. Wellesley was a senior politician in Britain where he served as Foreign Secretary from 1809 to 1812 and was regarded as a potential future Prime Minister. Lawrence was the leading portraitist of the Regency era, depicting prominent figures from Britain and it's European Allies during the Napoleonic Wars. It is also known as the Portrait of Lord Wellesley.
Portrait of Benjamin West is an 1810 portrait painting by the British artist Thomas Lawrence depicting the Anglo-American painter Benjamin West. Ten years later Lawrence succeeded West, on his death, as the President of the Royal Academy.
The Portrait of Prince Frederick, Duke of York, is a portrait painting of 1816 by the English artist Thomas Lawrence. It depicts Prince Frederick, Duke of York, the Commander in Chief of the British Army. A royal duke, he was the second son of George III and younger brother of the Prince Regent. From 1820 to his death in 1827 he was heir presumptive to the British throne.
Portrait of the Duke of Wellington is an 1814 portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Phillips depicting the Anglo-Irish soldier and politician Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington. Wellington had recently returned to London from Continental Europe where he had been serving without break since 1809. His success in the Peninsular War was followed by an invasion of Southern France before the Treaty of Paris brought peace. The following year he would lead Allied forces to victory at the Battle of Waterloo following the escape of Napoleon and the Hundred Days campaign.
Portrait of Napoleon II is an 1819 portrait painting by the British artist Thomas Lawrence depicting Napoleon II, the young son of the deposed French Emperor Napoleon and his wife Marie Louise, a member of the Austrian royal family.
Portrait of Frederick William III of Prussia is portrait painting by the British artist Thomas Lawrence of Frederick William III, King of Prussia. Begun in 1814 during the Visit by the Allied Sovereigns to England, it was completed during the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818.