The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Participants were representatives of all European powers and other stakeholders. The Congress was chaired by Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich, and was held in Vienna from September 1814 to June 1815.
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.
Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein, known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternich, was a conservative Austrian statesman and diplomat who was at the center of the European balance of power known as the Concert of Europe for three decades as the Austrian Empire's foreign minister from 1809 and chancellor from 1821 until the liberal Revolutions of 1848 forced his resignation.
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a multinational European great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, it was the third most populous monarchy in Europe after the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom, while geographically, it was the third-largest empire in Europe after the Russian Empire and the First French Empire.
Franz Xaver Winterhalter was a German painter and lithographer, known for his flattering portraits of royalty and upper-class society in the mid-19th century. His name has become associated with fashionable court portraiture. Among his best known works are Empress Eugénie Surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting (1855) and the portraits he made of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (1865).
Pauline Clémentine Marie Walburga, Princess of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein was an Austrian socialite, mainly active in Vienna and Paris. Known for her great charm and elegance as well as for her social commitment, she was an important promoter of the work of the German composer Richard Wagner and the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. She was also instrumental to the creation of the haute couture industry.
The Kingdom of Illyria was a crown land of the Austrian Empire from 1816 to 1849, the successor state of the Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces, which were reconquered by Austria in the War of the Sixth Coalition. It was established according to the Final Act of the Vienna Congress. Its administrative centre was in Ljubljana
Katharina Friederike Wilhelmine Benigna, Princess of Courland, Duchess of Sagan ; died 29 November 1839 in Vienna, Austrian Empire) was a German noble from the ruling family of Courland and Semigallia and a Duchess of Sagan. Wilhelmine is mainly known for her relationship with Klemens Metternich, a statesman of the Austrian Empire.
Moritz Michael Daffinger was an Austrian miniature painter and sculptor.
Adolph Aloys Freiherr von Braun was a diplomat and statesman who became one of the closest collaborators of the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. He was the Privy Councillor and Director of the Emperor's Cabinet's Chancellery from 1865 to 1899.
Richard Klemens Josef Lothar Hermann, 2nd Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein, usually known as Richard von Metternich, was an Austrian diplomat and the eldest surviving son of the diplomat Klemens, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein.
The House of Metternich was an old German noble family originating in the Rhineland. The most prominent member was Prince Klemens von Metternich, who was the dominant figure at the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815). As a former reigning house (mediatised), the Metternich family belonged to the small circle of high nobility.
Princess Marie-Clementine Bagration was the illegitimate daughter of Prince Klemens von Metternich and Princess Catherine Bagration.
Princess Klementine Maria Octavia von Metternich was an Austrian princess.
The Treaty of Paris of 14 March 1812 created an alliance between the Austrian Empire and the French Empire against the Russian Empire. Austria pledged to provide an auxiliary corps of 30,000 troops under the command of the French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, in the event of a war with Russia. The signatory for France was its foreign minister, the Duke of Bassano, and for Austria its ambassador in Paris, the Prince of Schwarzenberg. The treaty had nine public and eleven secret articles. The treaty was published in Le Moniteur Universel on 5 October 1813.
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.
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 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.
