Willem Wissing, known in England as William Wissing (1656 – 10 September 1687), was a Dutch portrait artist who worked in England. He was born in either

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, and studied at The Hague under

Willem Doudijns Willem Doudijns (1630–1697), was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver. Biography According to the RKD he learned to draw from Alexander le Petit, and he spent 12 years in Italy. He returned home in 1661, where he collaborated with Jan ...

(1630–97) and Arnoldus van Ravestyn (1615–90). In 1676, he moved to England, where he studied with and assisted Peter Lely. After Lely's death in 1680, Wissing emerged as his most important pupil. Godfrey Kneller was the only contemporary portrait artist in England to rival Wissing. Wissing’s royal sitters include Charles II of England,

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to King Charles II, which lasted from 21 May 1662 until his death on 6 February 1685. She ...

George of Denmark Prince George of Denmark ( da, Jørgen; 2 April 165328 October 1708) was the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. He was the consort of the British monarch from Anne's accession on 8 March 1702 until his death in 1708. The marriage of Georg ...

and James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. In 1685,

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

sent Wissing to the Netherlands to paint portraits of his Dutch son-in-law and daughter, the future

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic f ...

and the future Mary II of England. The portraits were often repeated; versions are on display in the Great Hall of the Wren building at

the College of William and Mary ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

. Wissing died in 1687 at the peak of his fame as a portrait painter, at Burghley House, the home of

John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter (c. 1648 – 29 August 1700), known as Lord Burghley until 1678, was a British peer and Member of Parliament. He was also known as the Travelling Earl. Life Exeter was the son of John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter (162 ...

near Stamford in Lincolnshire. Some suspected he was poisoned out of jealousy of his success. According to Arnold Houbraken his epitaph was ''Immodicis brevis est aetas'', meaning ''Brief is the life of the outstanding''. He was buried in St Martin's Church, Stamford, Lincolnshire. Fellow Dutch immigrant Jan van der Vaart worked in his workshop and added the draperies and landscapes in the portraits painted by Wissing. After Wissing's death in 1687, van der Vaart continued Wissing's workshop.Biographical details of Jan van der Vaart
in the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

Many of Wissing's portraits of prominent sitters and his self-portrait were disseminated in

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonal ...

Gallery

File:Wissing, Willem - Queen Anne, 1687.jpg, ''Portrait of Queen Anne'' (private collection) File:Willem Wissing - Portrait of Henrietta and Mary Hyde - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of Henrietta and Mary Hyde''. c. 1683 File:King William III by William Wissing.jpg, ''Portrait of William III when Prince of Orange'' (National Portrait Gallery) File:Willem Wissing - Portrait of a Boy - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of a Boy with Dog'' attrib. to Wissing (Yale Center for British Art) File:Willem Wissing - Elizabeth Jones, Countess of Kildare - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of Elizabeth Jones, Countess of Kildare'', attrib. to Wissing c. 1684 (Yale Center for British Art) File:James, Duke of Cambridge - Wissing 1676-87.jpg, ''Posthumous Portrait of James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge'', 1676-87 (Royal Collection) File:James_Butler,_1st_Duke_of_Ormonde_by_William_Wissing.jpg, ''Portrait of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde'' File:James Scott, Duke of Monmouth and Buccleuch by William Wissing.jpg, ''Portrait of James Scott, Duke of Monmouth and Buccleuch'' (National Portrait Gallery) File:Isabella, Dutchess of Grafton by Willem Wissing (1656-1687).jpg, ''Portrait of Isabella, Duchess of Grafton'' (Sotheby's) File:D. Catarina de Bragança, por Wissing (Palácio das Necessidades).png, ''Portrait of Catherine of Braganza, Queen of England'' ( Necessidades Palace, Lisbon)

References

* Millar, Sir Oliver and Margaret Whinney, ''Oxford History of English Art 1625–1714'', Oxford,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1957, 177.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wissing, Willem 1656 births 1687 deaths 17th-century English painters English male painters Painters from Amsterdam British Baroque painters Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Dutch portrait painters British portrait painters