Who painted William I (1772-1843), King of the Netherlands?

William I (1772-1843), King of the Netherlands was painted by Charles Howard Hodges in 1815-01-01.

Where can I see William I (1772-1843), King of the Netherlands?

William I (1772-1843), King of the Netherlands is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is William I (1772-1843), King of the Netherlands?

William I (1772-1843), King of the Netherlands is associated with Neoclassicism.

Can I buy a print of William I (1772-1843), King of the Netherlands?

Museum-quality prints of William I (1772-1843), King of the Netherlands are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

William I (1772-1843), King of the Netherlands

Charles Howard Hodges , 1815

William I (1772-1843), King of the Netherlands is an oil painting by the Neoclassicist artist Charles Howard Hodges. It dates from 1815 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Technique & Style

5 cm in height and 26 cm in width, indicating a relatively small-scale format typical for intimate likenesses or studies rather than grand state portraits.

Executed in 1815 by Charles Howard Hodges, this portrait of William I is an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 34.5 cm in height and 26 cm in width, indicating a relatively small-scale format typical for intimate likenesses or studies rather than grand state portraits. As a painted portrait, the piece utilizes traditional oil media to render the subject's features, adhering to the standard genre conventions of early 19th-century portraiture found in Dutch collections.

History & Provenance

The portrait of William I (1772–1843), King of the Netherlands, was produced by Charles Howard Hodges in 1815, executed in oil paint on canvas. The work was created the same year William I assumed the throne of the newly established Kingdom of the Netherlands, situating the commission within the early years of his reign.

The painting entered the holdings of the Rijksmuseum and is also associated with the collection of Rijksmuseum Twenthe, indicating an institutional ownership chain centered on these Dutch public collections. A small-format cabinet picture, measuring 34.5 by 26 centimeters, it depicts William I as its principal subject.

The portrait of William I by Charles Howard Hodges is held in the collections of the Rijksmuseum and Rijksmuseum Twenthe. The work, executed in 1815 on canvas, depicts the King of the Netherlands and measures 34.5 cm in height by 26 cm in width. The provided sources do not contain specific inventory or accession numbers for these holdings, nor do they record any exhibition history for the painting.

Context

The portrait of William I painted by Charles Howard Hodges in 1815 was created during the formative years of the Dutch monarchy following the establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. As a work by a British-born artist who settled in the Netherlands, it reflects the transnational artistic exchanges of the period and contributes to early Neoclassical portraiture in Dutch painting. The painting is held in the collections of the Rijksmuseum and Rijksmuseum Twenthe, institutions that document its provenance and display history.

Scholars have examined its stylistic qualities and historical significance within the context of post-Napoleonic European portraiture, particularly in relation to the symbolic representation of sovereign authority in the new kingdom.

Research on the work has focused on its iconography, technique, and placement within the oeuvre of Charles Howard Hodges, with attention to its role in shaping public perception of the first Dutch monarch.

Studies on the painting have also considered its reception in 19th-century art circles and its influence on subsequent royal portraiture in the Netherlands.

Overview

Charles Howard Hodges, an English artist who worked in the Netherlands at the turn of the 19th century, painted an oil portrait of William I in 1815. The canvas presents the newly crowned monarch in a formal pose, his gaze directed forward, conveying the authority associated with his recent accession after the Congress of Vienna.

Subject & Meaning

The sitter is William I, the first king of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, born in 1772. Dressed in a white, high‑collared military jacket over a black shirt, he appears solemn and composed, reflecting the political stability the new regime sought to project during a period of European re‑ordering.