J. QUILLEY after A. Aglio

GENERAL MARQUIS WELLINGTON

A black and white mezzotint engraving by John Quilley after the painting by A. Aglio and published in London by T. Palser in 1813. John Quilley was a line and mezzotint engraver who lived and worked in London in the early nineteenth century.

This print shows Wellington in characteristically military pose when England was engaged in armed conflict with the French under the command of Napoleon during the Peninsular Wars.
Arthur Wellesley was born in Dublin in 1769, the sixth child of the Earl and Countess of Mornington. He showed little interest in either his academic studies or his social position so in 1787 his parents bought him a commission in the 73rd Foot Regiment in 1787 thereby starting him on an illustrious military career that would eventually gain him the accolade of being known as The Iron Duke and Europe's Liberator. He moved to Ireland and progressed both his political and military ambitions by becoming the MP for Dublin and a colonel in the army. By 1812, a year before the publication of this print, he had been created Earl of Wellington with the Dukedom following two years later in 1814. He was a shrewd politician and brilliant commander and led the British troops to victory at Waterloo in 1815. Although he was created Commander of the Army in recognition of his achievements he left military service after Waterloo and became instead a politician and senior statesman. He died in 1852 at the age of 83 and was laid to rest in St. Paul's Cathedral.

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