De Loutherbourg was born in Strasbourg and had a distinguished career in France including Royal patronage, before moving to London in 1771 to work as David Garrick’s scene painter. A regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy he became associated with military painting at the time of the Warley Camp paintings and even accompanied the Duke of York on his Flemish expedition of 1793. In 1995 De Loutherbourg painted a depiction of the naval battle of the 1 June 1794; it was later acquired by George IV who commissioned Turner to supply a pair, depicting the Battle of Trafalgar (both paintings now at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich). George III’s visit to the military camp at Warley near Brentwood in Essex took place on 20 October 1778; the King and Queen stayed for the nights of 19 and 20 October at Thorndon Hall, the seat of the Catholic peer Lord Petre. The day began with a review of the troops, the subject of this painting followed by military manoeuvres including a mock attack, depicted in its pair of 1779 (RCIN 406348). The attack was led by Lieutenant-General Pierson, who commissioned both these paintings from de Loutherbourg and presented them - presumably in their magnificent frames - to the King. Both pictures were exhibited at the Royal Academy (this one in 1780) and later hung in the Music Room in the Dutch House at Kew. In this scene is shown a military camp of tents on a gently undulating plain, before which the army is lined up in ranks for inspection; a procession of cannon moves to the right before them, one pulled by seven horses. The Royal party is clearly on the left hand side though it is difficult to make them out; on the right side members of the public run to get a view of proceedings.