Final Moments of Philip II
1864. Oil on canvas.On display elsewhere
The moment this painting depicts is taking place in one of the palatial rooms of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. The dying monarch blesses his son, the soon-to-be king Philip III, in the presence of his daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia, both in the centre of the composition. On either side, two ecclesiastics – presumably the archbishop of Toledo, Loaysa, and the prior of the monastery, or perhaps his confessor, Brother Diego de Yepes– can be seen on the left. Three noblemen, perhaps Don Cristóbal de Mora and Don Fernando de Toledo, the King´s favourites, can be seen on the right.
Through the window in the background, through which Philip II used to follow the religious services, the viewer can see the funerary monument to Emperor Charles V, his wife Isabella of Portugal; his daughter, Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress; and his sisters Leonor and Maria; a work by Pompeo Leoni, located in the presbytery of the church, on the side where the Gospel used to be read. In the upper right-hand corner, in semi-darkness, Titian´s The Virgin Dolorosa with her Hands apart can be seen. It had been housed in El Escorial since 1574 after being brought from Yuste.
The theme was frequently addressed throughout the 19th century by painters such as Carlos María Esquivel, José María Rodríguez de Losada, Víctor Manzano and Antonio Casanova Estorach. In this case, the scene is inspired by Modesto Lafuente´s account of Philip II’s death in his Historia General de España [General History of Spain], published in 1850. The work is a typical academic reconstruction of the past, notable for its compositional sobriety, which is closely related to other similar works that allude to the death of great historical figures.
La época de Carlos V y Felipe II en la pintura de historia del siglo XIX [comisario, Carlos Reyero], Madrid, Sociedad Estatal para la Conmemoración de los Centenarios de Felipe II y Carlos V, 1999, p.386-387
