Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (1775-1860) Admiral

Location

Country: Brazil
City: Rio de Janeiro
Place: Consulate-General

This mezzotint is after Peter Eduard Stroehling’s portrait of British admiral, Thomas Cochrane, tenth Earl of Dundonald. Cochrane’s career began when he when he joined a ship commanded by his uncle, Alexander Cochrane, in 1793. He served during the Napoleonic Wars and was elected a Member of Parliament for Honiton in 1806 and 1807. However, following his repeated calls for parliamentary and naval reforms, coupled with an accusation of fraud, Cochrane was expelled from Parliament and deprived of an earlier honour, the Order of Bath, in 1814.

In 1817 Cochrane accepted a position as commander of the Chilean naval fleet. He was involved in a series of successful campaigns against Spanish forces (1819-22), which contributed to the eventual independence of Chile and Peru. He then served as admiral of the Brazilian fleet (1823-25).

Cochrane served as admiral of the Greek Navy from 1827 to 1828, during which time he supported the use of steam-powered war ships in the Greek War of Independence. After returning to England in 1828, he became tenth Earl of Dundonald in 1831 and two years later, was reinstated into the British Navy. In later years he was involved with naval operations in Russia, North America and South America.

Peter Eduard Stroehling was born in 1768 in Düsseldorf. Following a period of working in Paris and Germany, he studied in Italy in the early 1790s. He visited Vienna in 1796 and then spent the next five years in St Petersburg. Stroehling arrived in England around 1804 and established his name as a successful painter of portraits and miniatures, exhibiting at the Royal Academy, British Institution and the Society of British Artists. From 1810 to 1820 he was Historical Painter to the Prince of Wales.
Charles Turner was born in Woodstock, Oxfordshire; the son of an excise officer. At a young age he moved to London, where he was apprenticed to engraver John Jones and studied at the Royal Academy schools. He later produced work in mezzotint, aquatint and stipple for publishers in London and Scotland. He also began publishing his own prints in 1796. In 1812 he was appointed Engraver-in-Ordinary to George III. He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1828. Throughout his career he is thought to have produced 638 portrait engravings and over 300 subject engravings. These were generally made after works by contemporary artists, such as Raeburn, Lawrence and J. M. W. Turner, with whom the engraver enjoyed a long standing friendship.

People

Thomas, 10th Earl of Dundonald Cochrane (1775 - 1860)

Places

Subjects

deck (ship), rigging, male portrait, man, 19th century costume, military uniform, trousers, epaulettes, Earl, admiral, cannon, sword

Materials & Techniques

mezzotint

Artist

Peter Eduard Stroehling (1768 - 1826)
Charles Turner (1774 - 1857)

Title

Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (1775-1860) Admiral

Date

published 24 January 1809

Medium

Mezzotint

Acquisition

Purchased from F B Daniell, 1946

GAC number

243