Richard Cosway was accused by some of his contemporaries of idealising his sitters. It was thought that his broad style merely flattered, catching only a general air rather than minutely delineating detail. In fact, he was capable of producing fine interpretive studies of character. This portrait of Arthur Wellesley, later 1st Duke of Wellington, and one of the most well-known faces of the early 19th century, is testament to Cosway's ability. It is a face marked by character, full of bird-like analogies--the eagle-eye and hawk-nose--self confident, but handsome rather than predatory.

This miniature was painted in 1808 and marks the beginning of Arthur Wellesley's famous exploits against Napoleon, who in 1804 had crowned himself Emperor of the French, having brought nearly all Western Europe to his heel. The Peninsular War (1808-14), conducted in Spain and Portugal against the emperor's forces, was a continual drain of Napoleon's strength. It ended with Napoleon's exile on the island of Elba and Wellesley being named the Duke of Wellington. The following year Napoleon escaped from Elba. His final battle with the newly created Duke was at Waterloo (1815), which Napoleon lost.