Queen Mary II
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- subject matching 'Buildings and architecture'
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Queen Mary II
by Jan Verkolje
oil on canvas, circa 1688
15 5/8 in. x 12 3/4 in. (397 mm x 324 mm)
Purchased, 1880
Primary Collection
NPG 606
Sitterback to top
- Queen Mary II (1662-1694), Reigned with William III 1689-94. Sitter associated with 97 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Jan Verkolje (1650-1693), Painter, draughtsman and mezzotint printmaker. Artist associated with 13 portraits.
This portraitback to top
The elder daughter of James II by Anne Hyde, Mary married William of Orange in 1677. In the heartbreaking dilemma presented by the revolution of 1688, Mary chose to support her husband and Protestantism rather than her Catholic father. She is said to have come to Whitehall 'laughing and jolly' and she proved a wise and tactful queen. In this elegant portrait, an exquisite small-scale version of a portrait painted in Holland in 1685, she is shown in robes of state with the crown and sceptre by her side. She is holds white flowers in her left hand and there is a view of classicizing architecture, including a running fountain, in the distance.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Smartify image discovery app
- Bennett, Sue, Five Centuries of Women and Gardens, 2000 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 5 October 2000 to 21 January 2001), p. 39
- Ingamells, John, Later Stuart Portraits 1685-1714, 2009, p. 172
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 416
- Williamson, David, Kings and Queens, 2010, p. 122
- Williamson, David, The National Portrait Gallery: History of the Kings and Queens of England, 1998, p. 125
Subjects & Themesback to top
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.Tell us more back to top
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