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Double Portrait of Willem II (1626-1650), Prince of Orange, and Princess Mary Stuart (1631-1660), later Princess Royal

Anthony van Dyck

Double Portrait of Willem II (1626-1650), Prince of Orange, and Princess Mary Stuart (1631-1660), later Princess Royal

Anthony van Dyck

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Period

1600-1650

Theme

Portrait

Medium

…; collection Amalia van Solms, Princess of Orange (1602-75), widow of Frederik Hendrik, in the antechamber to a suite of rooms, originally allocated to Willem II, on the west side of Huis ten Bosch, near The Hague (‘1188 Een schilderije van sijn hoogheyt prince Willem hooglofl. memorie met princesse royale bij Van Dijck gemaeckt’), estate inventories, 1654, 1658 and 1664;{See S.W.A. Drossaers and T.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, _Inventarissen van de inboedels in de verblijven van de Oranjes en daarmee gelijk te stellen stukken 1567-1795_, 3 vols., The Hague 1974-76, I, 1974, pp. 281-82.} her grandson, Willem III; moved to his hunting lodge, Het Loo, Apeldoorn, c. 1693;{Noted there by lawyer Beckeringh and Redger Bolhuis in 1705: ‘boven de schoorsteen zagh men prins Willem de tweede uitgebeeld met de princesse royale met haar beyde op de trouwdagh 27 [_sic_] jaeren oudt’. See S.W.A. Drossaers and T.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, _Inventarissen van de inboedels in de verblijven van de Oranjes en daarmee gelijk te stellen stukken 1567-1795_, 3 vols., The Hague 1974-76, I, 1974, p. 282 under note 1188.} his heir, Johan Willem Friso; his son, Willem IV, recorded at Het Loo, Apeldoorn (‘832 Het pourtrait van prins Willem de Tweede en de princesse royal door Van Dijk’), 1713;{Estate inventory 1713, see S.W.A. Drossaers and T.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, _Inventarissen van de inboedels in de verblijven van de Oranjes en daarmee gelijk te stellen stukken 1567-1795_, 3 vols., The Hague 1974-76, I, 1974, p. 677, the documents signed in his behalf by the prince’s grandfather Karl, Landgraf of Hesse-Kassel (1654-1730), and his mother Marie Louise.} his son Willem V, as in the Cabinet near the Ballroom, Apeldoorn (‘20. Prins Willem van Orange de 2e met princesse dogter van Carel den 1e door Van Dijk’ 7 v. 1 d. 5 v. 7 d.’ [approx. 222.4 x 175.3 cm] and noted as ‘Vast aen de schoorsteen’), estate inventory, 1757;{See S.W.A. Drossaers and T.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, _Inventarissen van de inboedels in de verblijven van de Oranjes en daarmee gelijk te stellen stukken 1567-1795_, 3 vols., The Hague 1974-76, II, 1974, pp. 639-40. The size given is approx. 42.4 cm higher and approx. 43.3 cm wider, which indicates that the measurements include that of the frame or moulded surround, approx. 20 cm wide at each edge.} following his flight to England in 1795, transferred to the museum, 1808;{No. 165 in the third room (‘Kinderen van Karel de Eerste door A. van Dyck’), see P.J.J. van Thiel, ‘De inrichting van de Nationale Konst-Gallery in het openingsjaar 1800’, _Oud Holland_ 95 (1981), pp. 170-227, p. 207. Moes and Biema summarize references to it 1798-1808, see E.W. Moes and E. van Biema, _De Nationale Konst-Gallery en Het Koninklijk Museum_, Amsterdam 1909, p. 202; Waldorp (1801 and 1804), described the work as by Honthorst, see J.G. Waldorp’s ‘Lijst’, transcribed in E.W. Moes and E. van Biema, _De Nationale Konst-Gallery en Het Koninklijk Museum_, Amsterdam 1909, pp. 39-43, 67-74.} on loan to the Haags Historisch Museum, 2005-08

Current Location

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The Story

1693;{Noted there by lawyer Beckeringh and Redger Bolhuis in 1705: ‘boven de schoorsteen zagh men prins Willem de tweede uitgebeeld met de princesse royale met haar beyde op de trouwdagh 27 [_sic_] jaeren oudt’. A. H. , The Hague 1974-76, I, 1974, p. A. H. , The Hague 1974-76, I, 1974, p. } his son Willem V, as in the Cabinet near the Ballroom, Apeldoorn (‘20. Prins Willem van Orange de 2e met princesse dogter van Carel den 1e door Van Dijk’ 7 v. 1 d. 5 v. ’ [approx. A. H. , The Hague 1974-76, II, 1974, pp. 639-40. The size given is approx.

Executed in …; collection Amalia van Solms, Princess of Orange (1602-75), widow of Frederik Hendrik, in the antechamber to a suite of rooms, originally allocated to Willem II, on the west side of Huis ten Bosch, near The Hague (‘1188 Een schilderije van sijn hoogheyt prince Willem hooglofl. memorie met princesse royale bij Van Dijck gemaeckt’), estate inventories, 1654, 1658 and 1664;{See S.W.A. Drossaers and T.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, _Inventarissen van de inboedels in de verblijven van de Oranjes en daarmee gelijk te stellen stukken 1567-1795_, 3 vols., The Hague 1974-76, I, 1974, pp. 281-82.} her grandson, Willem III; moved to his hunting lodge, Het Loo, Apeldoorn, c. 1693;{Noted there by lawyer Beckeringh and Redger Bolhuis in 1705: ‘boven de schoorsteen zagh men prins Willem de tweede uitgebeeld met de princesse royale met haar beyde op de trouwdagh 27 [_sic_] jaeren oudt’. See S.W.A. Drossaers and T.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, _Inventarissen van de inboedels in de verblijven van de Oranjes en daarmee gelijk te stellen stukken 1567-1795_, 3 vols., The Hague 1974-76, I, 1974, p. 282 under note 1188.} his heir, Johan Willem Friso; his son, Willem IV, recorded at Het Loo, Apeldoorn (‘832 Het pourtrait van prins Willem de Tweede en de princesse royal door Van Dijk’), 1713;{Estate inventory 1713, see S.W.A. Drossaers and T.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, _Inventarissen van de inboedels in de verblijven van de Oranjes en daarmee gelijk te stellen stukken 1567-1795_, 3 vols., The Hague 1974-76, I, 1974, p. 677, the documents signed in his behalf by the prince’s grandfather Karl, Landgraf of Hesse-Kassel (1654-1730), and his mother Marie Louise.} his son Willem V, as in the Cabinet near the Ballroom, Apeldoorn (‘20. Prins Willem van Orange de 2e met princesse dogter van Carel den 1e door Van Dijk’ 7 v. 1 d. 5 v. 7 d.’ [approx. 222.4 x 175.3 cm] and noted as ‘Vast aen de schoorsteen’), estate inventory, 1757;{See S.W.A. Drossaers and T.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, _Inventarissen van de inboedels in de verblijven van de Oranjes en daarmee gelijk te stellen stukken 1567-1795_, 3 vols., The Hague 1974-76, II, 1974, pp. 639-40. The size given is approx. 42.4 cm higher and approx. 43.3 cm wider, which indicates that the measurements include that of the frame or moulded surround, approx. 20 cm wide at each edge.} following his flight to England in 1795, transferred to the museum, 1808;{No. 165 in the third room (‘Kinderen van Karel de Eerste door A. van Dyck’), see P.J.J. van Thiel, ‘De inrichting van de Nationale Konst-Gallery in het openingsjaar 1800’, _Oud Holland_ 95 (1981), pp. 170-227, p. 207. Moes and Biema summarize references to it 1798-1808, see E.W. Moes and E. van Biema, _De Nationale Konst-Gallery en Het Koninklijk Museum_, Amsterdam 1909, p. 202; Waldorp (1801 and 1804), described the work as by Honthorst, see J.G. Waldorp’s ‘Lijst’, transcribed in E.W. Moes and E. van Biema, _De Nationale Konst-Gallery en Het Koninklijk Museum_, Amsterdam 1909, pp. 39-43, 67-74.} on loan to the Haags Historisch Museum, 2005-08, measuring width: 132.2; height: 180, the surface rewards close looking. Anthony van Dyck builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.

“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”

Where to see Double Portrait of Willem II (1626-1650), Prince of Orange, and Princess Mary Stuart (1631-1660), later Princess Royal

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. View on the museum’s official page.

See more works at Rijksmuseum or browse the full Anthony van Dyck collection.

A restrained palette and sculptural lighting create a solemn geometry. The wooden crate and letter anchor the narrative with journalistic precision.