Mary of Modena

In this informal portrait Mary of Modena, the Italian wife of James II, rests her hand on a small dog that is probably an Italian greyhound, a reference to her native county. Mary was a devout Catholic (before her marriage she planned to enter a convent), and the only daughter of Alfonso IV, duke of Modena. This portrait by William Wissing was created around 1685; it was one of a series of paintings based on the royal couple's coronation portrait sittings.