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Portrait of Arthur Wellesley, later 1st Duke of Wellington
attributed to John Wright (British, 1745–1820)
c. 1806–7
- Medium
- watercolor on ivory in a gilt wood frame
- Classification
- Portrait Miniature
- Dimensions
- Framed: 22 x 18.2 cm (8 11/16 x 7 3/16 in.); Unframed: 18.7 x 14 cm (7 3/8 x 5 1/2 in.)
- Culture
- England, 19th century
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- The Edward B. Greene Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
John Wright was an engraver and miniaturist active primarily in London who exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1795 and 1819. He painted miniatures in ivory on the traditional small, oval surfaces as well as the rectangular format that became increasingly popular during the 1790s. Wright’s style is painterly, and he employed gouache to create saturated brushstrokes that suggest oil painting. Yellow tones predominate in the faces of his portraits. His miniatures are often signed and dated on the reverse and sometimes inscribed with his address. In this miniature Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), is depicted at three-quarter length, with his body facing forward and his head slightly to the right. In his right, buff-gloved hand he holds a black cocked hat with red and gold tassels; his left hand rests on the hilt of a sword. A five o’clock shadow is visible on the famously hirsute soldier, who has gray-blue eyes, bow lips, and powdered dark hair. Wellesley wears the uniform of a major-general (the rank he attained in 1802), which consists of a red coat with a dark blue collar and cuffs—trimmed with gold braid—and epaulets. He wears white breeches, and from his…
