View of Windsor Castle from the River by Hendrick Danckerts (1625-1689)

 1660 attr Hendrick Danckerts (Dutch artist, 1625-1689) View of Windsor Castle from the River. The original castle was built in the 11th century after the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I, it has been used by the reigning monarch & is the longest-occupied palace in Europe. Originally designed to protect Norman dominance around the outskirts of London & oversee a strategically important part of the River Thames, Windsor Castle was built as a motte-and-bailey, gradually replaced with stone fortifications, the castle withstood a prolonged siege during the First Barons' War at the start of the 13th century. Henry III built a luxurious royal palace within the castle during the middle of the century, & Edward III went further, rebuilding the palace to make an even grander set of buildings in what would become "the most expensive secular building project of the entire Middle Ages in England." Edward's core design lasted through the Tudor period, during which Henry VIII & Elizabeth I made increasing use of the castle as a royal court & centre for diplomatic entertainment.  Windsor Castle survived the tumultuous period of the English Civil War, when it was used as a military headquarters by Parliamentary forces & a prison for Charles I. At the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles II rebuilt much of Windsor Castle with the help of the architect Hugh May.

Hendrick Danckerts (c.1625-1680) was a Dutch  landscape painter who moved to England, entering the service of Charles II & the Duke of York, in 1658. Born in The Hague, Danckerts began his career as an engraver &in 1651, he entered that city’s Guild of St Luke. From around 1653-7, Danckerts traveled in Italy determined to improve his painting technique. On his return to Holland, he established himself as a landscape painter, before Charles II invited him to England.  He painted landscapes, especially views of harbors & royal residences. He left England in 1679, due to the public hostility towards Roman Catholics after the Popish Plot controversy. Charles commissioned several important pieces from Danckerts, & by 1688, The Royal Collection owned 29 works by the Dutch painter.