Houbraken, Jacob (after Godfrey Kneller)
King George I
1746
The great-grandson of James VI and I, George I (1660–1727) was crowned King of Great Britain on 1 August 1714–the same day that Queen Anne died. This was a critical point in British history: when the crown was transferred from the house of Stuart to the house of Hanover. To mark this historical event, George I is depicted as a godlike figure. Such prints, which were fairly inexpensive, enabled citizens to make authority figures a part of their everyday lives in domestic settings.