Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 17th Century.
William III and Mary II ruled Britain jointly after deposing King James II in what is known as the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Although Mary was James's daughter, she was a devoted Protestant, as was her husband, William (Prince of Orange), and many Parliamentarians and nobles wanted Mary to be monarch instead of her Roman Catholic father. In the autumn of 1688, after being asked by Parliament to take action against King James, William arrived in England with an army to depose him. James fled the country, abdicated, and Mary was invited to take the throne. However, Mary did not want to rule alone. She felt that her husband should be crowned instead (he was also a grandchild of King Charles I). But as William wanted the crown to pass to the next legitimate heir (which was Mary) and not claim the crown by conquest, a compromise was reached: Mary and William would rule jointly.
William spent eight months out of every twelve fighting a war with France and survived two Jacobite attempts to overthrow him, but his reign was short at just 13 years. Mary died after just five years on the throne, and as she died childless, the couple had failed to begin a dynasty of their own, and the crown was passed promptly to Mary’s sister, Anne upon William’s death.
WILLIAM WISSING also known as Willem Wissing, (1656 - 1687), was a Dutch portrait artist.
He was born in either Amsterdam or The Hague, and studied at The Hague under Willem Doudijns (1630–97) and Arnoldus van Ravestyn (1615–90). In 1676, he moved to England, where he studied with and assisted Sir Peter Lely.
After Lely's death in 1680, Wissing emerged as his most important pupil. Godfrey Kneller was the only contemporary portrait artist in England to rival Wissing. Wissing’s royal sitters include Charles II of England, Queen Catharine of Braganza, Prince George of Denmark and James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.
In 1685, James II of England sent Wissing to the Netherlands to paint portraits of his Dutch son-in-law and daughter, the future William III of England and the future Mary II of England. Wissing died in 1687 at the peak of his fame as a portrait painter, at Burghley House, the home of Algernon Capel, 2nd Earl of Essex outside of London.
He was buried in St Martin's Church, Stamford, Lincolnshire.
SIZE: 42.5 x 36 x 2.5 inches including the frame.
PROVENANCE: Mayfair Gallery, London.
Private Collection, London.
Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 17th Century.
Roy and nadine precious: specialists in portraiture from the 16th to the 20th century. Established in 1972.
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Pair of Portraits of King William and Queen Mary: After Wissing
