Thomas Lawrence in the context of "The Royal Academicians in General Assembly"

Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783 – November 5, 1872) was an English-American portrait painter. He was born in England, became a naturalized American citizen in 1809, and lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including in the Thomas Sully Residence. He studied painting in England under Benjamin West. He painted in the style of Thomas Lawrence and has been referred to as the "Sir Thomas Lawrence of America".

He produced over 2,300 paintings over his 70 year career. His subjects included United States presidents Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson; Revolutionary War hero General Marquis de Lafayette, and Queen Victoria. In addition to portraits of wealthy patrons, he painted landscapes and historical pieces such as the 1819 The Passage of the Delaware. His work was adapted for use on United States coinage.

John Martin (19 July 1789 – 17 February 1854) was an English Romanticist painter, engraver, and illustrator. He was known for his typically vast and dramatic paintings of religious subjects and fantastic compositions, populated with minute figures placed in imposing landscapes. Martin's paintings, and the prints made from them, enjoyed great success with the general public, with Thomas Lawrence referring to him as "the most popular painter of his day". He was also criticized by John Ruskin and other critics.

Coriolanus (/kɒriəˈleɪnəs/ or /-ˈlɑː-/) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same years he wrote Antony and Cleopatra, making them his last two tragedies.

Coriolanus is the name given to a Roman general after his military feats against the Volscians at Corioli. Following his success, others encourage Coriolanus to pursue the consulship, but his disdain for the plebeians and mutual hostility with the tribunes lead to his banishment from Rome. In exile, he presents himself to the Volscians, then leads them against Rome. After he relents and agrees to a peace with Rome, he is killed by his previous Volscian allies.

A pelisse was originally a short fur-trimmed jacket which hussar light-cavalry soldiers from the 17th century onwards usually wore hanging loose over the left shoulder, ostensibly to prevent sword cuts. The name also came to refer to a fashionable style of woman's coat-like garment worn in the early-19th century.

The Royal Academy Exhibition of 1815 was the annual Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts based in London. It was held at Somerset House from 1 May to 24 June 1815 during the Regency Era. It took place during the Hundred Days campaign after Napoleon's escape from Elba with the Battle of Waterloo taking place on 18 June shortly before the end of the exhibition.

Amongst the works on display were those celebrating the victory over Napoleon the previous year War of the Sixth Coalition. Notable amongst these were paintings by Thomas Lawrence depicting leading figures of the alliance that had defeated France in 1814. Portrait of Prince Metternich, featuring the Austrian foreign minister Klemens von Metternich. Two of the portraits, that of the Duke of Wellington and Portrait of Marshal Blücher, depicted the commanders of the Allied armies that would join forces to secure victory at Waterloo. They would both end up at the Waterloo Chamber of Windsor Castle. Lawrence also exhibited a portrait of the Prince Regent who had commissioned the paintings of the victorious allies. He is depicted in a Field-Marshal's uniform.