William II of Orange

William II of Orange (born 17 May 1626) became stadholder of the Netherlands when his father, Frederick Henry of Orange (a son of William the Silent), died in 1647. Married to Charles I of England's daughter Maria, William II left behind a son at his early death on 6 November 1650; in 1689, this son would become William II, King of England, and thus unite the Netherlands and England in a personal union, while embodying the heart of European resistance against the expansionism of Louis XIV of France. This engraving is technically unusual and innovative because of the fact that only the background was executed in cross-hatching with a burin, while the sitter is depicted with the new mezzotint technique. This technique was invented by Ludwig von Siegen, the creator of our sheet, and involves roughening the entire surface of the copper plate so that it can hold the ink. At this stage, a print would produce a velvety black tone. In order to create an image, the roughness of the plate is then once again reduced with a burnishing tool: these areas hold less ink, and thus produce lighter areas within the print. Unlike an ordinary engraving, which is a linear printing process, the mezzotint is based on the printing of forms – as is appropriate to the painterly style of the Baroque.