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Lot Essay
Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the youngest son of Duke Francis Frederick of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield (1750-1806) and Countess Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf (1757-1831), was crowned first 'King of the Belgians' on 26 June 1831, Belgium having asserted its independence from the Netherlands in the previous year.
In 1816, Leopold married Princess Charlotte Augusta (1796-1817), the only legitimate child of the British Prince Regent (later King George IV). Had Princess Charlotte not died in childbirth the following year, she would have become Queen of Great Britain on the death of her father in 1830 and Leopold in turn would have become Prince Consort. Leopold was created British Field-Marshal and knight of the Garter, and became principal advisor to his niece, Queen Victoria, daughter of his sister Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. In 1840, he was instrumental in the marriage of Queen Victoria to his nephew Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, son of his brother Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Leopold campaigned against France's occupation of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg in 1806 and refused Napoleon's offer of a position as adjutant. Having reached the rank of General in the Izmailovski Imperial Regiment in Russia, Leopold took up a career in the Imperial Russian Cavalry, distinguishing himself at the battle of Kulm at the head of his cuirassier division and reaching rank of Lieutenant-General in 1815.
Dawe painted Leopold I on several occasions: the artist exhibited portraits of him at the Royal Academy in 1817 and 1818 (nos. 62 and 78 respectively); a variant of the present picture, signed and dated 1821, is in the Royal Collection, Brussels; and a copy of the composition, inscribed 'George Dawe, R.A. pinxit 1824 H Halliern copiet 1936', is in the collection of the Royal Dragoon Guards (Leopold was Colonel of the 5th Dragoon Guards between 1816 and 1831).
George Dawe, son of the mezzotint engraver Philip Dawe, entered the Royal Academy Schools in London in 1796. He won a gold medal in 1803 and exhibited at the Academy for the first time the following year. He was elected an ARA in 1809 and an RA in 1814. Dawe visited Brussels in 1817 and was present at the review of the Allied troops by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, in Cambrai. He later travelled to St Petersburg (1819) where he undertook a celebrated series of portraits of the senior officers who had taken part in the Napoleonic Wars for Tsar Alexander I.
In 1816, Leopold married Princess Charlotte Augusta (1796-1817), the only legitimate child of the British Prince Regent (later King George IV). Had Princess Charlotte not died in childbirth the following year, she would have become Queen of Great Britain on the death of her father in 1830 and Leopold in turn would have become Prince Consort. Leopold was created British Field-Marshal and knight of the Garter, and became principal advisor to his niece, Queen Victoria, daughter of his sister Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. In 1840, he was instrumental in the marriage of Queen Victoria to his nephew Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, son of his brother Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Leopold campaigned against France's occupation of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg in 1806 and refused Napoleon's offer of a position as adjutant. Having reached the rank of General in the Izmailovski Imperial Regiment in Russia, Leopold took up a career in the Imperial Russian Cavalry, distinguishing himself at the battle of Kulm at the head of his cuirassier division and reaching rank of Lieutenant-General in 1815.
Dawe painted Leopold I on several occasions: the artist exhibited portraits of him at the Royal Academy in 1817 and 1818 (nos. 62 and 78 respectively); a variant of the present picture, signed and dated 1821, is in the Royal Collection, Brussels; and a copy of the composition, inscribed 'George Dawe, R.A. pinxit 1824 H Halliern copiet 1936', is in the collection of the Royal Dragoon Guards (Leopold was Colonel of the 5th Dragoon Guards between 1816 and 1831).
George Dawe, son of the mezzotint engraver Philip Dawe, entered the Royal Academy Schools in London in 1796. He won a gold medal in 1803 and exhibited at the Academy for the first time the following year. He was elected an ARA in 1809 and an RA in 1814. Dawe visited Brussels in 1817 and was present at the review of the Allied troops by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, in Cambrai. He later travelled to St Petersburg (1819) where he undertook a celebrated series of portraits of the senior officers who had taken part in the Napoleonic Wars for Tsar Alexander I.