Portrait of William I

This painting is a portrait of William of Orange (William I), known as the father of the Dutch nation. At the time, the Netherlands was ruled by Felipe II of Spain. In 1568, a group of nobles led by William of Orange raised an army in the name of religious freedom. This was the 80 Years War. In 1581, he proclaimed the independence of the "Federal Republic of the Netherlands" and became the first Governor-General of the Netherlands. (Independence was officially recognized in 1648.) William of Orange was a wise man and a leader; he commissioned this portrait from a painter around 1579, at the height of his power, in the midst of the Eighty Years' War. In 1580, Philip II put a bounty on William of Orange's head, and he was assassinated four years later, in 1584.

References

• Rijksstudio - Rijksmuseum www.rijksmuseum.nl
• 世界史の窓 オラニエ公ウィレム