La infanta Catalina Micaela fue la menor de las dos hijas habidas en el matrimonio del rey Felipe II con su tercera esposa, Isabel de Valois. Nació en Madrid en 1567. Junto a su hermana mayor, Isabel Clara Eugenia, ocupó un lugar preferente en los sentimientos del rey, su padre, como denotan sus relaciones epistolares. Como Infanta de España, tenía reservado además un puesto preciso en la política
Joanna, the daughter of Charles V and Isabella of Portugal was born in 1535, and later married her cousin Joao Manuel, prince of Brazil. On the death of her husband in 1554, and having soon after given birth to their son, Don Sebastián, she left Portugal and returned to Spain, where she died in 1573.
Isabel Clara Eugenia (1566-1633), King Philip II’s mostbeloved daughter, boasts fine robes and an “upper-crust” and highly-fashionable coiffure. She is standing, with just over half her body visible, her gloved left hand on the back of a chair, holding a miniature of her by-then elderly father in her right hand. This miniature, beside expressing her emotional bond with her father, is also intended
As he was often required to do, Pantoja de la Cruz here copied an original by Sofonisba Anguissola (c. 1535-1625) of Cremona; it was her first portrait of the young queen. It is an attractive adaptation to Spanish conventions, but using warmer, lighter colours; a marmot-fur stole has also been added to the queen’s costume.In this three-quarter portrait Queen Isabel de Valois (1546-1568) wears a bl
Pantoja de la Cruz continued the type of court portrait formulated by Sánchez Coello in the mid-sixteenth century. The severe, distant image projected by the sitter, possibly a servant in the Alcázar in Madrid, is characteristic of portraiture of this period, contrasting with the expressive intensity of El Greco’s Toledan male sitters. Signed and dated.
Shortly after El Greco completed the high altar for the church of the Colegio de Doña María de Aragón (Madrid), Juan Pantoja de la Cruz executed these two canvases, which were to flank El Greco’s work. While primarily known as a portraitist, Pantoja also produced notable religious compositions such as the present monumental figures, which are imbued with a dynamism and express
At the German Imperial court, into which Queen Margaret of Austria (1584-1611) was born, portraits of royalty were often included in religious scenes; these paintings were known in Spanish as portraits “a lo divino”. This canvas, which was commissioned by the queen herself, shows three of her sisters, together with their mother, the Duchess of Styria.
Perteneciente al retablo mayor de la iglesia del colegio de Agustinos Calzados de Madrigal junto con La Adoración de los Pastores (P2471), Aparición de santa Leocadia a san Ildefonso (P5412) y la Imposición de la casulla a san Ildefonso (P5424). Registrado por Ceán (1800): MADRIGAL / COLEGIO DE AGUSTINOS CALZADOS / Seis quadros en el altar mayor con figuras del tamaño del natural, firmados en 1603
A fire in El Pardo Palace on March 13, 1604, destroyed the portraits in the Hall of Kings. These portraits had been painted by the finest artists of the time, including Titian, Antonio Moro, Alonso Sánchez Coello, and Sofonisba Anguisciola. Encased in stucco frames attached to the walls of the gallery, which had been organized by Sánchez Coello at the behest of Philip II, these portr
The king is portrayed in armour, beside a tent; the image is not particularly representative of the sitter, whose tastes tended more towards regal pomp and religious piety. The composition follows earlier traditions, though with certain features characteristic of Pantoja de la Cruz: a rather geometric rendering of the figure, an impassive, somewhat distant expression, and a fascination with the de
Margaret, who married Philip III in 1599, was the daughter of the Archduke of Bavaria. In this portrait by Pantoja de la Cruz -the most representative painter of the reign- she wears the so-called “Rich jewel”, a dynastic heirloom comprising the diamond known as “El estanque” (The Pool) and the famous large pearl known as “La peregrina” (The Pilgrim).
Margaret of Austria married Philip III in 1599 after Philip II chose her from among the women of the Austria-Styria family. The marriage was planned to coincide with that of infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia and archduke Albert. Margaret was born in 1584 and when she arrived in Spain in April 1599, she had already been married by power of attorney in Ferrara. She was known for her discretion and virtue