Portrait Of The 17th Century - Willem Wissing - England

Magnificent British 17th century old master portrait of a Lady, possibly Lady Mary Bertie, Countess of Carnarvon (1655-1709), ca. 1685 by royal portraitist Willem Wissing

This three-quarter length portrait depicts a raven-haired beauty (possibly Mary Bertie, Countess of Carnarvon), seated in a landscape. She is wearing a green cloak, a white and russet coloured silk gown, which is adorned with pearls and jewels. The young lady is leaning against a rich, dark red curtain and in the distance an opulent country house can be seen. The present work is a very fine and beautiful portrait, some art historians who saw this painting after its cleaning told us that it reminded them of portraits by Van Dyck.

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 or The Hague, and studied at The Hague under Willem Doudijns (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, George of Denmark and James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. In 1685, James II of England sent Wissing to the Netherlands to paint portraits of his Dutch son-in-law and daughter, the future William III of England 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 in Williamsburg, Virginia. 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 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.

The canvas measures ca. 123 by 100cms. It is housed in a wonderfully matching antique frame and the total dimensions are ca. 140 by 115cms.

Provenance: Private collection Portugal (as Mary of Modena)
Signed lower right.