Portrait of Arthur Wellesley

John Hoppner painted Portrait of Arthur Wellesley around 1795, depicting the future Duke of Wellington as a young officer just before the military campaigns that would make him the most celebrated soldier in British history. At the time of the portrait Wellington was a relatively obscure lieutenant colonel, not yet the hero of India or the victor of Waterloo, and Hoppner's portrait captures the young man before the fame that would transform him into an icon. The portrait is significant as a historical document: the future commander who would defeat Napoleon is here simply a competent young officer, his extraordinary future entirely invisible.

Hoppner renders the young Wellesley with the atmospheric softness and warm palette characteristic of his portrait style. The composition is restrained and unassuming, giving no hint of the military greatness that would follow.