Maria Princesse van Orange &c.

Mezzotint 350 x 256mm Published in Amsterdam, 1678 Valck’s portrait of Queen Mary II of England is drawn from Sir Peter Lely’s oil of 1677 (now in the National Portrait Gallery, London) and shows a fifteen year old Princess recently betrothed to her cousin and Dutch ruler William, Prince of Orange. The couple wed in London in 1677 and moved to The Netherlands, where she lived as consort to her husband Prince for over a decade. From 1685 England was ruled by Mary’s father, King James II, who had converted to Roman Catholicism, to great political concern among the Protestant establishment in England. In 1688 he fathered a son, and heir, who would be raised Roman Catholic and interrupt Mary’s Protestant ascension to the English throne. The English Revolution of 1688 saw the overthrow of King James II and the invasion of England by William upon the request of Parliamentarians to restore the Protestant line. William and Mary would rule as joint Monarchs from 1689 until her death in 1694 at the age of thirty-two. The reign of Mary and William was the only co-regency in England’s history and saw the establishment of the Bill of Rights following the Revolution. Valck’s mezzotint displays typical qualities of richness and softness which create deep tone and texture to the print. Valck’s work is an early example of the medium, and one of the first of an English subject, Peter Lely being an early supporter of the technique as he saw its potential to promote his portraits. Valck was about twenty-six years of age when he completed this portrait. A rich impression on laid paper, pasted on the edges to a backing sheet, small ink handwritten dates of Mary’s reign along the bottom plate line, one short 4mm tear. Provenance: The Berry Collection, Melbourne