Hans David Ludwig graaf Yorck von Wartenburg

About this artwork

Schenking van mevrouw J.M. van Gelder-Nijhoff

Art Historical Context

This striking 1815 medal by German medalist Daniel Friedrich Loos commemorates Hans David Ludwig Graf Yorck von Wartenburg, the Prussian field marshal whose bold decision to sign the Convention of Tauroggen in 1812 helped turn the tide against Napoleon. Measuring just 2.9 cm in diameter and weighing 10.35 grams, the piece exemplifies the intimate scale of early nineteenth-century commemorative medals, designed to be held and examined rather than displayed from afar. Loos, renowned for his precise neoclassical portraits, employed the traditional technique of striking—pressing a hardened die into softened metal—to capture Yorck’s likeness with crisp detail. Such medals served both as personal keepsakes and instruments of political memory during the turbulent years following Napoleon’s defeat. Created at the moment of the Congress of Vienna, this example likely celebrated Yorck’s role in Prussia’s liberation and the restoration of European order. Its donation to the collection by Mrs. J.M. van Gelder-Nijhoff underscores the enduring interest in Napoleonic-era artifacts among later generations of collectors. Loos’s restrained yet elegant style reflects the neoclassical taste of the period, favoring clarity and dignity over ornament. Though small, the medal carries outsized historical resonance, distilling a pivotal military and diplomatic moment into a portable work of art.

About the Artist

Daniel Friedrich Loos · 1735–1819

Daniel Friedrich Loos (1735–1819) was a German medallist, engraver, and die-cutter who served as chief engraver and medalist for the Kingdom of Prussia during a crucial period of Prussian history. Born on June 15, 1735, in Altenburg and dying on October 1, 1819, in Berlin, Loos pursued an 84-year life that spanned from the reign of Frederick William I through the Napoleonic Wars and into the post-...