Godfrey Kneller
, German, 1646-1723
Title
King William III of England Returning from the Peace of Ryswick, Margate, 1697Datec.1701
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
139 x 122 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 1886
Object numberNGI.311
ProvenancePurchased, Christie's, London, 1886, sale of T. Kibble's picturesExhibition HistorySwift and His Age. A Tercentenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1967
De Glorieuze Revolutie: de Wereld van Willem and Mary, 1650-1702, Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam, June - August 1988
Label TextAn important event of William III’s reign was his signing of a peace treaty with Louis XIV which ended the war with France. The treaty brought about a period of stability that heralded the Georgian era. Kneller presents the event in allegorical terms as the King rides along a seashore greeted by the goddess of plenty with her cornucopia (horn of plenty). Above, Mercury and the personification of Peace hold up a helmet crowned with laurels. This is an autograph replica of Kneller’s monumental painting which hung on a staircase at Hampton Court Palace.