Portrait of the Duke of Wellington

Portrait of the Duke of Wellington

After defeating the French forces of Napoleon and entering Madrid victorious in August 1812, Arthur Wellesley sat for Goya for a portrait. Goya produced three works from this sitting: a large painting of the Duke on horseback, a drawing, and this painting on panel. The simplicity of the composition focuses our attention on Wellington's face. His face is gaunt and exhausted from battle, contrasting with the bright crimson military uniform he wears.

The theft of the painting entered popular culture, as it was referenced in the 1962 James Bond film Dr. No. In the film, the painting was on display in Dr. Julius No's lair, suggesting the first Bond villain had the work stolen. The prop painted by Ken Adam was used in the film promotion and was then stolen itself. The story of the theft and the following trial of Bunton was dramatised in the film The Duke, directed by Roger Michell and starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, which was released in cinemas in the UK on 25 February 2022.

Public domain

NG6322

The painting was acquired by the Duke of Wellington, and came into the possession of Louisa Catherine Caton, It descended to John Osborne, 11th Duke of Leeds, by the time it was put up for auction at Sotheby's in 1961. The New York collector Charles Wrightsman bid £140,000 (equivalent to £3,315,375 in 2021), but the Wolfson Foundation offered £100,000 and the government added a special Treasury grant of £40,000, matching Wrightsman's bid and obtaining the painting for the National Gallery in London, where it was first put on display on 2 August 1961. It was stolen nineteen days later on 21 August 1961 by bus driver Kempton Bunton. Four years after the theft, Bunton contacted a newspaper, and through a left-luggage office at Birmingham New Street railway station, returned the painting voluntarily. Bunton confessed in July 1965 that he took the painting and its frame. Following a high-profile trial in which he was defended by Jeremy Hutchinson, QC, Bunton was found not guilty of stealing the painting, but guilty of stealing the frame.

64.3 cm × 52.4 cm

Although this portrait was probably painted directly from life, Goya later altered Wellington's pose and made significant changes to the composition as the Duke was awarded more medals and military orders. Goya painted Wellington in an upright pose with his head held high, as if wishing to appear taller. Painted with a sense of urgency and vitality. Goya left the brown priming layer exposed in some areas to create a contrast between light and dark, which is especially evident in the eyes and mouth. The medals and decorations are painted with a loose, gestural style, but they are still easily recognizable. For example, the lion at the center of the Military Gold Cross is only hinted at with a single stroke of yellow paint, but we can still see its shape.

1812, finished in 1814