Portrait of the Marquess Wellesley | |
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Artist | Thomas Lawrence |
Year | 1812-1813 |
Type | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 130 cm× 104 cm(52 in× 40.8 in) |
Location | Royal Collection, Windsor Castle |
The Marquess of Wellesley is a portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the Irish statesman Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley. [1] 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.
A member of the Irish Aristocracy, Wellesley had made his name during his spell as Governor-General of India. He had promoted the career of his younger brother Arthur, the future Duke of Wellington. By the time Lawrence painted him he was rapidly being eclipsed in fame by his younger brother who led British and Allied troops to victory in the Peninsular War and the later Battle of Waterloo. [2]
Wellesley resigned from the government in early 1812 in a failed attempt to replace Spencer Perceval. [3] His successor at the Foreign Office was Lord Castlereagh who oversaw British policy during the defeat of Napoleon. Wellesley remained on the political sidelines for several years, before his career revived by being made Viceroy of his native Ireland in 1821.
The painting was commissioned by the sitter. He is shown dressed in an ensemble of black clothing and sitting on a red upholstered armchair with a curtain in the background. He is wearing the prestigious Order of the Garter (Lesser George of the Order of the Garter on the riband and the Garter on the left leg). As with all his major portraits, Laurence executed the work in oil on canvas. [4] It became the best-known image of Wellesley, who was painted on several occasions, due to the numerous engravings made of it. [5] An 1815 mezzotint by Charles Turner is now in the National Portrait Gallery. [6] The original painting was later presented by Wellesley to the young Queen Victoria. In 1859 it was hanging at Windsor Castle. It remains part of the Royal Collection. [7]
A few years after completing the painting, Lawrence depicted Wellesley's future wife the American heiress Marriane [8] [9]
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.
Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry,, usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was a British statesman and politician. As secretary to the Viceroy in Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform, and he ended his life an isolated and unpopular figure.
Duke of Wellington is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The name derived from Wellington in Somerset. The title was created in 1814 for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellington, the Anglo-Irish military commander who is best known for leading the decisive victory with Field Marshal von Blücher over Napoleon's forces at Waterloo in Brabant. Wellesley later served twice as British prime minister. In historical texts, unqualified use of the title typically refers to the 1st Duke.
Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, was an Anglo-Irish politician and colonial administrator. He was styled as Viscount Wellesley until 1781, when he succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Mornington. In 1799, he was granted the Irish peerage title of Marquess Wellesley of Norragh. He was also Lord Wellesley in the Peerage of Great Britain.
Earl of Mornington is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1760 for the Anglo-Irish politician and composer Garret Wellesley, 2nd Baron Mornington. On the death of the fifth earl in 1863, it passed to the Duke of Wellington; since that date, the title has generally been used by courtesy for the heir apparent to the heir apparent to the dukedom.
Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, was an Anglo-Irish nobleman, a British soldier and a politician. He served in the French Revolutionary Wars, in the suppression of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, and in the Napoleonic wars. He excelled as a cavalry commander in the Peninsular War (1807–1814) under John Moore and Arthur Wellesley.
William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington,, known as Lord Maryborough between 1821 and 1842, was an Anglo-Irish politician and an elder brother of the Duke of Wellington. His surname changed twice: he was born with the name Wesley, which he changed to Wesley-Pole following an inheritance in 1781. In 1789 the spelling was updated to Wellesley-Pole, just as other members of the family had changed Wesley to Wellesley.
Garret Colley Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington was an Anglo-Irish politician and composer, as well as the father of several distinguished military commanders and politicians of Great Britain and Ireland.
Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley GCB was an Anglo-Irish diplomat and politician. He was the younger brother of the soldier and politician the first Duke of Wellington. He is known particularly for his service as British Ambassador to Spain during the Peninsular War where he acted in cooperation with his brother to gain the support of Cortes of Cádiz. His later postings included being Ambassador in Vienna where he dealt with Metternich and British Ambassador to France during the reign of Louis Philippe I.
Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford,, styled Viscount Beauchamp between 1793 and 1794 and Earl of Yarmouth between 1794 and 1822, of Ragley Hall in Warwickshire and of Sudbourne Hall in Suffolk, was a British Tory politician and art collector.
Francis George Godolphin D'Arcy D'Arcy-Osborne, 7th Duke of Leeds, styled Earl of Danby from birth until 1799 and Marquess of Carmarthen from 1799 until 1838, was a British peer and politician.
Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool was invited by the Prince Regent to form a government on 8 June 1812. This is a list of members of the government of the United Kingdom in office under the leadership of Lord Liverpool from 1812 to 1827. He was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by the Prince Regent after the assassination of Spencer Perceval.
John Lovet MacTavish was a Scots-Canadian heir to the North West Company and diplomat.
Marianne Wellesley, Marchioness Wellesley was the American second wife of Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, a brother of the Duke of Wellington.
Portrait of Lord Castlereagh is an 1809 portrait by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the Irish politician Lord Castlereagh, then serving as the British Secretary of War. Lawrence had developed a reputation as a leading artist of society portraits, and was on friendly terms with the politician.
The Portrait of the Duke of Wellington is a portrait 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 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 Francis I of Austria is a painting by the British artist Sir Thomas Lawrence depicting the Austrian Emperor Francis I.
George III is am 1809 portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence depicting the British monarch George III. It is an oil painting on canvas depicting the King in his robes for the State Opening of Parliament. It was commissioned by George as a gift for the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Henry Addington. George had reigned since 1760, but he was troubled by occasional bouts of mental instability. In 1810, shortly after celebrating the Golden Jubilee on the throne, George was overcome by a more lasting loss of control and his eldest son George was declared Prince Regent. The image by Lawrence continued to be used to represent the King throughout the remainder of his reign.