Antonio Verrio (c1636-1707) and the Royal Image at Hampton Court

Antonio Verrio worked at Hampton Court Palace for William III and Queen Anne between 1700 and 1705. This was his last major commission before his death in 1707 and has been dismissed as an inferior programme of decoration, not worthy of much investigation. Edward Croft-Murray's survey work for his Decorative Painting in England did not give much space or consideration to this phase of Verrio's career, and the only academic article on any of the Hampton Court paintings appeared as long ago as 1940. The special edition of Apollo Magazine published in 1994 to celebrate the re-opening of the King's Apartments after the 1986 fire contained chapters on every aspect of William III's decorative scheme except Verrio's murals.