Lot Essay
This bronze of King William II of the Netherlands (1792-1849) is a small version of a life-size portrait, which embellished the Stucco Hall in Soestdijk Palace.This portrait is no longer in the Royal Collection. Geefs executed a number of small versions with very minor differences in patina and colour. Besides the offered lot there are two examples in the collection of the House of Orange-Nassau Historic Collections Trust in The Hague. A further example is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which was bequeathed by H.R.H the Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar in 1888, and has been on loan to the 'Nederlands Leger-en Wapenmuseum Generaal Hoefer' in Leiden since 1953. (P.K. van Daalen, Nederlandse Beeldhouwers in de Negentiende Eeuw, The Hague 1957, p. 26 and J. Leeuwenberg, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, The Hague, 1973, p. 315, nr. 457)
William Frederick George Louis (1792-1849), Prince of Orange, the future King William II of the Netherlands, joined the British Army in 1811, following his studies in Oxford. He became very popular in England after he distinguished himself by impetuous bravery at the Battle of Victoria (1813). When in 1815 his father became King William I of the Netherlands, the Prince of Orange led the Dutch Army in the allied troops under the Duke of Wellington. He played a decisive role in Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo, where he was wounded. In recognition of this the Dutch States General gave him, as the Hero of Quatre-Bras and Waterloo, the hereditary property of Soestdijk. In 1816 he married Anna Paulowna, sister of Tsar Alexander I. In 1840 he was crowned King of the Netherlands. He died in 1849 in his favorite palace in Tilburg.
See illustration
William Frederick George Louis (1792-1849), Prince of Orange, the future King William II of the Netherlands, joined the British Army in 1811, following his studies in Oxford. He became very popular in England after he distinguished himself by impetuous bravery at the Battle of Victoria (1813). When in 1815 his father became King William I of the Netherlands, the Prince of Orange led the Dutch Army in the allied troops under the Duke of Wellington. He played a decisive role in Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo, where he was wounded. In recognition of this the Dutch States General gave him, as the Hero of Quatre-Bras and Waterloo, the hereditary property of Soestdijk. In 1816 he married Anna Paulowna, sister of Tsar Alexander I. In 1840 he was crowned King of the Netherlands. He died in 1849 in his favorite palace in Tilburg.
See illustration