On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P00861
- Author
- Sánchez Coello, Alonso (Spanish)
- Title
- Isabel Clara eugenia and Magdalena Ruiz
- Chronology
- Ca. 1586
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 207 cm x 129 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- No
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
This is a portrait of Felipe II's
first-born daughter, infanta Isabel
Clara Eugenia (1566-1633), with the
dwarf, Magdalena Ruiz. It follows
the traditional formulae of court
portraits, with the infante
standing up and lavishly dressed,
looking directly at the viewer. Her
jewels have an important symbolic
significance here. They belonged to
her mother, Isabel de Valois and
her stepmother, Ana de Austria. The
cameo with an image of her father
that she holds in her right hand
gives the scene a strong sense of
dynastic continuity. Isabel Clara
Eugenia´s dignity is emphasized by
the presence of Magdalena Ruiz, who
imitates her gesture. The coral
necklace and pair of monkeys may
allude to the infanta's trips to
Portugal in company of Felipe
II.
There has been considerable
disagreement about who painted this
work, although the intervention of
Sánchez Coello's workshop in much
of the work is now generally
accepted. The inventories of 1600
and 1636 at Madrid's Alcázar Palace
describe this painting without
attributing it to any painter.
