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Lieutenant-General The Honourable Robert Monckton
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Lieutenant-General The Honourable Robert Monckton
Major-General (later Lieutenant-General) The Honourable Robert Monckton (1726-1782), at the Taking of Martinique, 1762.Oil on canvas by Benjamin West (1738-1820), 1763/4 (c), exhibited at the Society of Artists 1764.Listed in 1762 as a major-general (he later became a lieutenant-general), Monckton is wearing a general officers frock coat: the single-spaced buttons and loops were later to be used to denote full generals. Still in his thirties, Monckton was a tall, imposing figure, who received the thanks of the House of Commons for his valiant conquest of Martinique.Moncktons military career was largely centred in North America, most significantly as General Wolfes second-in-command at Quebec in 1759. From 1761-1763, he was Governor of New York. It was thus no coincidence that he chose the young American artist, Benjamin West, to record his grandest moment for posterity. In 1763 West had just arrived in London, en route from Italy to his native Pennsylvania, when he received the commission. His interpretation of the dignified general, with its fashionable Neo-Classical allusion to the Apollo Belvedere, was so successful that it was one of three paintings exhibited in 1764 that launched Wests career in England. West went on to receive royal patronage and, in 1792, succeeded Sir Joshua Reynolds as President of the Royal Academy. In its day, his most famous painting, The Death of General Wolfe, (National Galleries of Canada), was innovative for treating a contemporary subject as a formal, academic history painting, with the principals dressed in their own clothes, as opposed to classical robes.The map in Moncktons right hand and the left-hand detail of the portrait make direct allusion to the most crucial part of the capture of Martinique. There had previously been several unsuccessful British attempts to take this important sugar island. In 1762 it was heavily garrisoned with over 12, 000 French soldiers, local militia and hired privateersmen. Monckton assemb
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This striking oil on canvas painting, titled "Major-General The Honourable Robert Monckton at the Taking of Martinique, 1762," depicts Lieutenant-General Robert Monckton in the moment of his greatest military triumph. Painted by the young American artist Benjamin West in 1763-64, the portrait was exhibited at the Society of Artists in London that same year and marked the beginning of West's successful career in England. Monckton, who was in his thirties at the time, is shown wearing the uniform of a general officer, with the single-spaced buttons and loops that would later denote full generals. Having received the thanks of the House of Commons for his valiant conquest of Martinique, Monckton chose West to immortalize this grand moment. Monckton's military career was primarily focused in North America, most notably as General Wolfe's second-in-command during the capture of Quebec in 1759, and as the Governor of New York from 1761-1763. West's interpretation of Monckton is a dignified and Neo-Classical portrait, with allusions to the Apollo Belvedere. The painting was one of three works exhibited in 1764 that launched West's career in England. West went on to receive royal patronage and, in 1792, succeeded Sir Joshua Reynolds as President of the Royal Academy. The map in Monckton's right hand and the left-hand detail of the portrait directly allude to the most crucial part of the capture of Martinique. Previously, there had been several unsuccessful British attempts to take this important sugar island, which was heavily garrisoned with over 12,000 French soldiers, local militia, and hired privateersmen. Monckton's successful conquest of Martinique was a significant victory for the British Empire, and this painting serves as a testament to his leadership and military prowess.
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