| Portrait of Pope Pius VII | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Thomas Lawrence |
| Year | 1819 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, portrait painting |
| Dimensions | 269.4 cm× 178.3 cm(106.1 in× 70.2 in) |
| Location | Royal Collection, Windsor Castle |
Portrait of Pope Pius VII is an 1819 portrait painting by the English artist Sir Thomas Lawrence depicting Pope Pius VII at the Vatican.
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The Prince Regent, the future George IV, commissioned Lawrence to paint portraits of leading European figures associated with the defeat of Napoleon in 1813-15. Lawrence travelled to the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle of October 1818 where he painted several leaders, then proceeded to Vienna to he executed several more major works. Planning to return to London, he then received instructions to go to Rome, the capital of the Papal States to paint Pius VII, head of the Catholic Church since 1800.
Pius had numerous disputes with the French Emperor during the Napoleonic Wars and had been held in custody in France for several years. Lawrence was granted unusual access as an English Protestant. [1] While in Rome, Lawrence also produced a painting of Cardinal Ercole Consalvi. [2] On his return to London in March 1820 he was elected President of the Royal Academy in succession to Benjamin West. [3]
Today the painting remains in the Royal Collection and hangs in the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle, along with numerous other Lawrence depictions of the victorious European leaders. [4]