King James II
1 portrait of King James II
© National Portrait Gallery, London
King James II
by George Vertue, after Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt
engraving, (1688)
12 in. x 7 1/2 in. (304 mm x 192 mm) paper size
Reference Collection
NPG D16728
Artistsback to top
- Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt (1646-1723), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 1689 portraits, Sitter associated with 30 portraits.
- George Vertue (1683-1756), Engraver and antiquary. Artist or producer associated with 865 portraits, Sitter in 7 portraits.
Related worksback to top
- NPG D16729: King James II (from same plate)
- NPG D16727: King James II (from same plate)
- NPG D32727: King James II (from same plate)
Events of 1688back to top
Current affairs
The Glorious Revolution. Senior statesmen, increasingly resentful of James's assault upon liberties of his subjects, invite William III of Orange to invade England. Their action is spurred on by the acquittal of seven bishops who refused to read James II's declaration of indulgence from their pulpits. James flees into exile.Art and science
George Savile, Marquess of Halifax, publishes his political tract, The Character of a Trimmer, written 1685, which urged Charles II to shake off his brother's influence.Writer, Aphra Behn, publishes Oroonoko, often considered to be an abolitionist treatise.
International
Nine Years' War. Threatened by William III's invasion of England and possible alliance of Protestant European states under his helm, Louis XIV sends French troops into the Rhineland. This pre-emptive strike ignites a war of attrition, and institutes a coalition of European states united in attempting to halt expansionist France.Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.
Related pages
- Alexander Browne and Richard Tompson
- Restoration Lives: Samuel Pepys and His Circle
- Kings and Queens: A Family tree
- Icons and Identities: Shakespeare to Winehouse
- Escape to Eden
- Handlist of names in the Reference Collection
- Natural arts: great landscape designers of the 18th century
- Party Trail
- Everyday icons: collecting popular portraits
- NPG D2930 in 360°
- LGBTQ+ History Month
- Adopt-a-Portrait
- Making History: Printed Portraiture in Tudor and Stuart Britain
- Mary, Queen of Scots: Fact and Fiction
- Rule, Britannia! Frederick, Prince of Wales and music in the 18th century
- Mary Queen of Scots: fact and fiction
- Daily highlights tours
- LGBTQ+ History Month highlights tour
- LGBTQ+ highlights tour
- Trailblazers Black history tour