“Portrait of Queen Anne as a Young Woman”
“Portrait of Queen Anne as a Young Woman” is an oil on canvas painting from 1687. It was painted by the Dutch portrait artist, Willem Wissing, and his Dutch assistant, Jan van der Vaart.
Wissing used the same formula for many of his portraits, including the pose, clothing, and background. “Portrait of Queen Anne as a Young Woman” is nearly identical to his painting, “Queen Anne, when Princess of Denmark”, made just two years prior. The subject’s face, hair, and style of dress are the same. The only difference is the color of the dress, and in one painting, Anne is standing while in the other, she is seated.
Princess Anne would later become the Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland. She was the last of the Stuart dynasty to serve in that role. Although she is remembered for being obstinate and stubborn, she was affectionately called Good Queen Anne, as she was very religious, good hearted, and conscientious. In this piece, Anne is just 20 years old.
As a queen, Anne’s reign was plagued by constant war with the French, as well as dealing with the War of Spanish Succession. She is probably most remembered for the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain through the union of England and Scotland in 1707.
Anne was married to Prince George of Denmark and despite 17 pregnancies, had trouble producing an heir to the throne. Just one of her many children made it past infancy, and he died at 11 years old, possibly from pneumonia.
The reign of the House of Stuart ended with Anne’s death. Though history remembers her for her poor health and constant state of pregnancy, she was a woman ruler in a society dominated by men and under her reign, England flourished economically as well as artistically.
“Portrait of Queen Anne as a Young Woman” is currently in a private collection.
For more on Willem Wissing, please visit his short biography here.
For more on Jan van der Vaart, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
Hi Heather, Fascinating post. I’m researching a copy of this portrait, with only minor variations. It’s of the period and possibly from Wissing’s studio. Do you know the dimensions of this painting? Mine is 50″ x 40″ in a period, possibly original frame. I’d be grateful for any leads/info you can share.
Hi Robert. Thanks for your comment! I know Wissing’s studio produced many variations on the same theme so I understand the difficulties! This one is in a private collection, but I was able to get this dimension (height: 125 cm [49.2 in]; width: 101 cm [39.7 in] from this source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wissing,_Willem_-_Queen_Anne,_1687.jpg
There is a very similar portrait with very similar dimensions (125.2 x 102.1 cm with support, canvas/panel/stretcher; and 146.8 x 123.1 x 5.8 cm with frame)in the Royal Collection Trust here:
https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/5/collection/405884/queen-anne-1665-1714-when-princess-of-denmark
I’ve seen this piece also labeled as being painted by Sir Peter Lely. Here is a copy of a postcard labeling the painting as done by Peter Lely and in the the Wernher Collection:
https://www.abebooks.com/paper-collectibles/Gwyn-Sir-Peter-Lely-Painting-Wernher/30116408283/bd
Hopefully this helps you in some way. Good luck!