Portrait of a gentleman, half length, in a white coat and red sash, said to be Freiherr Ernst Gideon von Loudon (1717-1790)

Through a series of military coups in 1757 and 1758, Ernst Gideon von Loudon was rapidly promoted from lieutenant-colonel to major-general in the Austrian army, this included service in the Seven Years War. Acting in his role as commander in chief of the army in 1758 he succeeded in fending off Frederick the Great and forcing him to give up at the siege of Olmntz, resulting in a retreat to Bohemia. This success awarded him the rank of lieutenant-field-marshal; at the same time Empress Maria Teresa bestowed upon him the title of Freiherr, securing a position for him in the Austrian nobility.