Representations of Horatio Nelson in the Visual Arts: Heroic Portraiture Versus Historical Reality from a Medical Perspective Gerald Stulc Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758–1805), 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB, was already a celebrated hero among the British populace by the time of the Battle of Trafalgar of 21 October 1805. Upon his death at age fortyseven at the hands of a sniper in that battle, he achieved mythic proportions that persist to this day. In perpetuating his heroism and his subsequent legacy, particularly in times of war and danger to Britain, the visual representation of Nelson among his countrymen necessitated a traditional rendering and reworking of the man in epic proportions. His representation in the visual arts – paintings, engravings, and film – is examined as it pertains to the expected heroic image versus what is known from reports of his physical and medical, and to a point, emotional conditions. The depictions of any given civilisation’s heroes traditionally portray them often as literally larger than life, perfect in physical form, domineering and victorious, whether it be of Ramses II, Octavian, or the Zeus-like sculpture of a bare-chested George Washington. Nelson entered service with the Royal Navy inauspiciously in 1771 at the age of twelve. He soon found that he suffered from seasickness, which would become a chronic illness often treated with peppermint. In support of the East India Company, he was sent to the Indies and Bombay in 1773. In 1775, he became ill with malaria, which was so severe that he nearly died. A coffin was prepared for him in the expectation that he would not survive the voyage back to Britain. In his febrile delirium, he experienced the vision of a glowing orb associated with the premonition that he was destined to become a hero. Nelson recovered, but while at Portsmouth in June 1777 he collapsed, apparently from another malarial attack. By 1780, he had been promoted to post-captain, and was part of Major-General John Dalling’s expedition to Central America against its Spanish colonies. During his trek up the San Juan River, Nelson began to experience chest pains, diagnosed as ‘gout’, a probable 9
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