T. Murray pinx: J. Smith fec: et exc:
[c.1703.]
Fine mezzotint. 345 x 250mm (13½ x 9¾"), large margins.
A half-length portrait in oval of Prince George Louis of Hessen-Darmstadt (1669-1705), wearing armour and the medallion of the Order of the Golden Fleece. A career soldier, he joined the Austrian army, serving under Prince Eugene of Savoy against the Turks in 1687. He then joined William of Orange in the Williamite War in Ireland, before returning to the Austrian army, in which he was promoted to major-general in 1692, aged only 23. After the Nine Years' War he became the Austrian viceroy in Catalonia, being replaced when Philip V became king of Spain, the spark that started the War of the Spanish Succession. It was his suggestion that, while passing through the Straits to Lisbon after a failed attack on Barcelona with Admiral Rooke, the marines should be used to capture Gibraltar, leading to Britain's continued possession of the Rock.
CS 128. Ex: collection of The Hon. Christopher Lennox-Boyd.
[Ref: 69075]  £320.00