Young Architect

A young man in a blue coat and a short wig is standing in front of a park scene. The map in his hands shows a star-shaped fortification. The pencil in his hand indicates that he himself created the plan.It is not clear which fortifications are shown on the map, which is unfortunate as this could have given a clear indication of the sitter’s identity. Possibly the person shown in the picture is the American physician Benjamin Thompson(1753 - 1814), Duke of Rumford, who was in British service from 1776 and in Bavarian service from 1784.¹ He reorganised the army and was involved in numerous changes concerning the urban development of Munich, dealing especially intensively with the defortification of the city and with laying out the English Garden. On Rumford’s initiative a “Military Garden” was laid out in its south-western part, which was actually supposed to provide peaceful occupation as therapy for the soldiers, but had the outward form of a fort for purposes of military exercise.² The previous attribution of this miniature to Laurent can not be maintained because the painting style and technique are different.