Willem Prins van Oranje. Waterloo 18 Junij 1865.

About this artwork

albuminedruk geplakt op karton

Art Historical Context

This albumen print by Dutch photographer Maurits Verveer captures Willem, Prince of Orange, at Waterloo on 18 June 1865. Measuring 190 by 137 millimetres and mounted on cardboard, the photograph was created using the albumen process, the most common photographic technique of the mid-nineteenth century. The medium’s smooth surface and rich tonal gradations allowed for sharp detail in formal portraits while remaining relatively affordable to produce. The date is significant: exactly fifty years after the Battle of Waterloo, the image records a royal visit to the historic battlefield. Verveer’s straightforward composition places the prince in a setting that evokes both personal lineage and national memory, linking the House of Orange to one of Europe’s defining conflicts. As an early photographic record, the print illustrates how the new medium quickly became a tool for commemorating public events and preserving likenesses of prominent figures for wider circulation.