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Description: | Engraving. This comprehensive group portrait depicts the moment a toast is made during the Duke of Wellington’s Waterloo Banquet, held annually from 1829 until the Duke’s death in 1852 for the officers who served under him in the Peninsular Wars. The guests are assembled in the magnificent 90-foot long Waterloo Gallery at Apsley House, the Duke’s residence in London.
The year depicted is 1836, when King William IV and the artist William Salter attended the banquet. In order to capture each attendee’s facial features, Salter painted the moment Edward IV rose to make a toast, just before dessert was served and after the guests had moved to converse in small groups. This allowed each person’s features to be seen by the viewer of the work. The artist also included examples of Wellington’s impressive art collection on display in the room, including van Dyck’s portrait of ‘Charles I on Horseback’ and Velazquez’s ‘Water Seller’.
The oil painting on which this print is based can be seen in the collection at Apsley House today. Oil studies for individual portraits included in the work are in the National Portrait Gallery, London, and an oil study for the whole composition was sold through Christie’s, London, in 2005. | Subjects: | Duke group portrait military uniform Arthur Wellesley Field Marshal carpet table dining/eating house portrait 1st Duke of Wellington chair topography woman candelabra state interior painting | Temporal: | 1846 | Source: | Government Art Collection | Creator: | William Salter (Artist) | Identifier: | http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/work.aspx?... | Go to resource |
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