Posthumous Portrait of Mary I Stuart (1631- 1660) with a Servant

The English princess Mary Stuart was married to the Dutch stadholder Willem II and died aged only 29. Hanneman painted this posthumous portrait a couple of years later.

Mary is ready for a fancy-dress ball and wears a white dress, an ostrich feather turban and a Brazilian feathered cloak. Her servant is fastening a string of pearls, but Mary seems not to notice him. The black boy is reduced to an ‘exotic’ accessory, with which Hanneman emphasizes Mary’s white skin and elevated position.