Description:
English mezzotint engraving on copper plate of Queen Anne in a modern frame. The inscription reads: "Serenissima et Potentissima Anna D. G. Angl. Scot Fran. & Hib. Regina/ In her a Solomon we see. / Abstracted from Idolatry./ Chast was her Life and pure her Pray'r. / Her People's good her only care./ Nat: Feb: 6th 1664/5 Obt. Aug: 1st 1714 / Kneller CR Imp. Angl. Eques Pinx. I. Simon H. Overton at White Wharf Without Newgate." The print by Simon and Overton based on a portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723)), a leading painter of the time of Queen Anne, shows a waist-length front view of the crowned Queen Anne carrying a sceptor and wearing a court gown, framed in an oval. Anne, Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1665-1714) was the second daughter of James II (1633-1701) and the last Stuart monarch, who succeeded to the throne in 1702 after the death of her brother-in-law, William III (her elder sister, Mary II, died in 1796). Unlike her father, Anne remained with the Church of England. She was very popular as the result of military sucesses under John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, and the Act of Union in 1707, which created the Kingom of Great Britain by uniting the parliaments of England (where Welsh representative already sat) and Scotland and declaring Scotland's acceptance of the Hanovarian line of succession. During the 18th century, portraits were the most popular kind of prints aside from maps and charts, and mezzotints were the most common method of making portraits. See the punch bowl (HD 60.126) for an example of her portrait painted in the center well where the image was probably taken from one of those mezzotints.
Tags:
portraits Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+76.006 |
