The Prince of Saxe-Coburg

In 1793 and 1794, Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the principal Commander of the Austrian forces in the Netherlands and one of Britain's allies during the War of the First Coalition against revolutionary France. Along with General Count Clairfayt, he won major victories at Aldenhoven and Neerwinden against Dumouriez, and it was he who selected the newly-arrived Duke of York to command the siege operations against Valenciennes.

After the commencement of the war with France in February 1793, there was naturally an interest to see images of the battles between the British and French (especially those that resulted in British victories) and portraits of the leaders of the combined forces from Britain and Austria who participated in those battles. So it is not surprising that after the victory at Valenciennes led by the young Duke of York in late July of 1793, the enterprising London publishers Valentin and Rupert Green along with the engraver/publisher Christian von Mechel in Basel would have commissioned a large scale painting commemorating the victory. The plan was to take advantage of the patriotic interest in the event in two ways: first to make money displaying a large scale painting of the battle to select audiences and then to make more money from the sale of prints based on the painting and the portraits created in preparing for it. This is one of at least two known portraits created for this purpose.

Philip James de Loutherbourg was selected to create the battle scene. A painter of dramatic landscapes, seascapes, and set designs for the Drury Lane Theatre, de Loutherbourg was probably a good choice to create a large-scale canvas with the requisite drama to attract interested patrons. Gillray was chosen to make preparatory sketches of the principal officers and the cannons, uniforms, pack horses, and other military equipment that would likely appear in a painting of the battle. He was no doubt selected because of his ability to make quick but accurate likenesses even under difficult conditions.

According to Draper Hill, Gillray set out for Valenciennes along with de Loutherbourg and Rupert Green on August 30, arriving in the area in September 3rd or 4th. Gillray is supposed to have visited the camp of the Prince at Bermerain on September 5th and made his sketch of the Prince the same day. The British Museum has numerous sketches by Gillray from that time, including one of Major Congreve, which gives one a good idea of the style and level of detail Gillray provided to de Loutherbourg, but, so far as I know, a sketch of the Prince has not survived.

There are at least two states or versions of The Prince of Saxe-Coburg.

In the first state or version, the print is non-colored, the title is in italic, the portrait oval is flatter, and the wall behind the portrait oval is not bricked. In the second, presumably finished version, the print is colored, the title is in a regular, non-italic font, and the appearance of a raised portrait oval and a brick wall have been created with the use of aquatint.

The print of The Prince of Saxe-Coburg was probably designed to appear coincidentally with the display of the Grand Attack on Valenciennes by de Loutherbourg. In any case, in June and July 1794, there were ads in The St. James's Chronicle or British Evening Post and Lloyd's Evening Post announcing (among other subscription-related information) that

The Exhibition of the Picture, painted by Loutherbourg, representing the Grand Attack on Valenciennes, is now open on the Ground Floor, at the Historic Gallery, Pall-Mall. Admittance, One Shilling.
In this Picture, Portraits of twenty-six of the principal Officers of the Combined Armies are introduced, and an accurate View of the City of Valenciennes and its Fortifications, taken on the spot by Mr. Loutherbourg.

It would make sense that portraits of the Prince of Saxe Coburg and General Count Clairfayt, both included in the Battle painting, and both with publication dates of June 23rd would have been on hand at the Gallery either for sale or as further incentives for subscribers to the Battle print.

Sources and Reading

• Commentary from the British Museum on The Prince of Saxe-Coburg.
• Draper Hill, Mr. Gillray The Caricaturist, 1965.. 49-53.
• "Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld," Wikipedia
• "War of the First Coalition," Wikipedia
• P. de Loutherbourg, The Grand Attack at Valenciennes
• Description of the Print of the Grand Attack on Valenciennes

Comments & Corrections

NOTE: Comments and/or corrections are always appreciated. To make that easier, I have included a form below that you can use. I promise never to share any of the info provided without your express permission.

First Name:	Last Name:
Email Address:
Comments/Corrections: