Sophia of Hanover

The print is part of a series of three etchings comprising the oldest known graphic works by W. Vaillant. They are portraits of three of the children of the „Winter King“, Frederick V of the Palatinate - Charles Louis, Elisabeth and Sophia - which he did at the court in Heidelberg in 1656. Sophia later married the Elector of Hanover and was the mother of George I, King of Great Britain. Sophia’s brother Prince Rupert, Count Palatinate of the Rhine, was a mezzotint pioneer with whom Vaillant worked to improve this technique two years later.