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We see King Philip IV of Spain (r. 1621-1665) when he was around twenty years old in an austere image filled with references to his status and responsibilities and to the reformist intentions with whi [+]
Philip IV´s sister, Maria, was born in El Escorial in 1606. As a result of her royal lineage, she was destined to become yet another pawn in the play of matrimonial alliances that the European courts [+]
Following his appointment as painter to the King in 1623, Velázquez`s principal task was that of portraying the monarch and his circle. In order to do so he primarily made use of two different [+]
This is an extraordinary example of the eventful life of many royal portraits during the Siglo de Oro, and it shows just how much those paintings, rather than immutable artworks, were objects with a r [+]
This was one of the paintings decorating the Hall of Realms at Madrid´s Buen Retiro Palace, where various discourses (territorial, mythological, military, and so on) combined to make up the decoration [+]
Regardless of the concrete origin of the equestrian portraits for the Hall of Realms, the location for which each was painted, or their sequence, they clearly present a series of formal and iconograph [+]
Of the equestrian portraits painted for the Hall of Realms, this is the only one with a declaration of authorship. The lower left corner has been a customary place throughout the history of painting f [+]
This painting was intended to hang to the right of the Equestrian Portrait of Philip IV (P01178) and it depicts that monarch´s first wife, Elizabeth of Bourbon (1602-1644), whom he married in 1615. Th [+]
Born to Philip IV and Elizabeth of Bourbon in 1629, Baltasar Carlos was crown prince until his death in 1646. As such, he was the subject of numerous paintings, most of which are related to Velá [+]
Between 1635 and 1637, important additions were made to the Torre de la Parada, the king´s hunting pavilion situated in the woodlands surrounding the royal palace of El Pardo, on the outskirts of Madr [+]
Born in El Escorial in 1609, don Fernando was the son of Philip III and Margarita de Austria, and thus Philip IV´s brother. As a result, he held very high posts. In 1619, he was appointed cardinal and [+]
In 1624, soon after Velázquez`s arrival at court, the political writer Almansa noted that the equestrian order was and is the backbone of republics. This notion was shared by the Spanish monarc [+]
The inscription at the lower left serves to date this portrait between October 1635 and the same month the following year. At that time, following his first Italian visit and his permanent and conscie [+]
This image can be identified as that of a king and as a portrait of Philip IV on the basis of others of the monarch. In fact, nothing about the clothes or the sitter`s actions suggests his royal statu [+]
In its present state the painting reveals two different phases of creation. The apparent age of the sitter and the notable similarities with his appearance in Velázquez`s portrait of the elderl [+]
This pair of portraits (P001220 and P001222) combines several aspects of Spanish portraiture of the Baroque period. In principle, the figures of Philip IV and his second wife, Mariana of Austria, are [+]
This pair of portraits (P01220 and P01222) combines several aspects of Spanish portraiture of the Baroque period. In principle, the figures of Philip IV and his second wife, Mariana of Austria, are a [+]
Mariana of Austria (1634-1696) was the daughter of the Emperor Ferdinand III and María of Hungary. It was intended that she marry her cousin, Prince Baltasar Carlos, but following his death she [+]
