Bust of Stadholder William IV (1711-1751)

In 1733, when Jan Baptist Xavery signed and dated this marble bust, William IV of Orange was 22, and his title was grander than his power. Since 1702 the leading Dutch provinces had governed themselves without a stadholder, and William held that office only in Friesland, Groningen and Gelderland. Negotiations were under way for his marriage to Anne, eldest daughter of the British king George II, and the wedding took place in London in 1734.

The whole Republic made him stadholder only in 1747, four years before his death. He also added to the family collection some of the pictures that now define the Mauritshuis, among them The Bull, Paulus Potter's life-size young bull in a meadow.