Portrait of the Duke of Wellington

Goya painted Wellington in August 1812, shortly after the British general's victory at the Battle of Salamanca liberated Madrid from Napoleonic forces. Wellington sat for Goya in a hurried session, and the portrait was reworked multiple times — X-rays reveal an earlier composition beneath. The Duke wears civilian dress rather than full military regalia, lending the portrait an unusual informality. Goya initially gave him more decorations, adding and removing medals as Wellington's honors accumulated. The painting was stolen from the National Gallery in 1961 by Kempton Bunton, a retired bus driver protesting television license fees, and recovered four years later — one of the most famous art thefts of the twentieth century.

Goya renders Wellington with characteristic directness, the general's thin, aquiline features painted with economical precision against a dark background. The portrait combines military authority with the unflattering honesty that distinguishes Goya's best portraiture.