Portrait of Maurits (1567-1625), Prince of Orange

The small badge hanging on a ribbon at Prince Maurits's chest tells us roughly when this was painted. It belongs to the English Order of the Garter, which King James I gave him in 1613, so the portrait comes after that. By then the prince, a son of William of Orange, had commanded the army of the young Dutch Republic against Spain for more than 20 years, though the war itself was paused by the Twelve Years' Truce of 1609. The gilded armour with its pattern of laurel leaves was presented to him by the States General, the Republic's governing assembly, after his victory at Nieuwpoort in 1600. Michiel van Mierevelt took the grand full-length pose from Titian's portraits of armoured rulers and hung heavy curtains around him like a canopy. The decorated shield propped at the side was designed by Maurits himself.