Portrait of a Countess
by HUYSMANS, Jacob, Oil on canvas, 188 x 133 cm
This portrait represents a countess wearing robes for the coronation of James II. The coronation of James II and his Queen, Mary of Modena, took place on 23 April 1685 at Westminster Abbey, and the robes worn by members of the peerage were specially designed for the occasion. The coronet on the table behind the sitter in this painting is that of a Countess in the peerage of England, twenty nine of whom attended James II’s coronation ceremony.