Mary by Netscher #7742

Possible portrait of Mary II of England by Netscher circa 1680. 16 1/2 by 13 1/2 inches inside the frame.

Portrait of a woman who appears to be a Stuart in an oval background. The back of the canvas is labelled Netscher, and the painting is in his compositional style. Netscher’s patron was William stadholder of the Dutch Republic. From 1678 to 1688, Mary lived in the Dutch Republic before she became Queen of England. During that time, Netscher painted many ovals of Mary as well as larger scale portraits. This painting was conserved in the 1960's and transferred to a metal substrate. If it is a Netscher, cleaning may have caused the loss of some of his characteristic upper layers of glazing. Over painting and infill are obvious. The frame is a modern reproduction of a William and Mary frame, needing tortoise shell over the red to complete the effect. Research is ongoing.