Portrait of Prince William II of Holland (1626-1650), full-length, with a hound

This is evidently a studio version of the exceptional portrait of 1632, one of the most sensitive portraits of children of Van Dyck's second Antwerp period, which was painted for the sitter's parents, prince Frederik Hendrik of Orange and Amalia van Solms. That portrait by Van Dyck passed by descent to the princes of Anhalt-Dessau and is at Schloss Mosigkau (H. Vey in S.J.Barnes, Van Dyck, A complete catalogue of the Paintings, New Haven and London, 2004, no. III.114). A version for which the artist was paid twenty pounds on 8 August 1632 was sent to King Charles I, whose daughter Mary was to marry the prince on 12 May 1641.