Portret van Anna van Hannover 1718

This is a print of Anna van Hannover, made by George Vertue, who was working in England in the first half of the 18th century. The image is a statement about dynastic power, made possible by the technology of reproducible prints. Prints like these, sold to a wide public, served to familiarize British subjects with the image of their rulers. The original painting was made by Sir Godfrey Kneller, the leading portrait painter of the day, who had a highly successful studio. This print flattens Kneller's painterly image into a set of hatched lines, which creates an idealized image appropriate for a princess. To understand this image better, historians might look at the print market of the time, and the social function that royal portraiture played in solidifying the Hanoverian Dynasty. Understanding art means understanding its place in a network of institutions, economics, and power.