Upon the death of Charles III, Goya was asked to paint portraits of the new monarchs, Charles Bourbon IV and his wife, María Luisa of Parma. As a recently named Royal Painter, the artist was responsible for supplying portraits of the Royal Family; aided by several painters in his workshop, he was required to fulfill the commissions of numerous different institutions and private citizens thr
Ferdinand IV (1751-1825) was the third son of Charles VII of Naples and his wife, Maria Amalia of Saxony. When his father acceded to the Spanish throne as Charles III in 1759, he became king of Naples. The sitter wears the Orders of the Golden Fleece and San Gennaro. His childish grace contrasts with the courtly pomp of the setting.
Retrato de María Josefa Amalia de Sajonia Borbón-Parma (Dresde, Alemania, 1803-Aranjuez, Madrid, 1829), reina consorte de España y tercera esposa (1819) del rey Fernando VII. Peinada con el cabello recogido con peineta de carey y bucles a ambos lados de la frente, luce la banda y cruz de la orden de María Luisa. La factura del retrato y la madurez del semblante de la reina, notablemente más adulto
Mengs painted these portraits of the heirs to the Spanish throne -the prince and princess of Asturias, Carlos de Borbón and Maria Luisa of Parma- on the occasion of their wedding. As the daughter of Philip I, Duke of Parma, and Louise Isabelle of France, and thus granddaughter of Kings Philip V and Louis XV, Maria Luisa was Queen Consort of Spain between 1788 and 1808. She wears a light-col
A portrait of King Carlos IV (1784-1819) wearing red velvet and decorated with the Golden Fleece, on a background of curtains that partially hide a crown at the right edge of the composition. This work may have been made shortly after the Monarch took the throne, as he still wears the sash of Carlos III (1716-1788), whose design was specified on 24 October 1772. Its combination of colors was modif
Ha figurado como obra de Alonso Sánchez Coello. Repite el retrato, fechado en 1558, del Museo de Budapest, que se atribuye a Antonio Moro. Para su identificación se han barajado diversos nombres, ninguno de ellos de manera convincente.
This portrait of Philip V is based on a prototype devised by Meléndez in the 1720s. It combines a French model with the use of broad, zig-zagging brushstrokes typical of the Madrid Baroque style. The monarch´s notably idealised face is extremely delicately painted, with the paler tone of the broad brow suggesting the illumination of intelligence. Small highlights on the nose and lips emphas
Born in 1784 in El Escorial, Fernando VII was Carlos IV eldest son by Maria Luisa. In 1815, after abolishing the Constitution, he reined as an absolute monarch. He appears wearing the symbols of his royal condition, with a purple, ermine-lined robe, and a scepter with the coat of arms of Castile and Leon in his right hand. The sash of the Order of Carlos III crosses his chest, and he also bears th
During his visit to Valencia in 1802, the Literary University of the city gave the King this painting which shows the university, personified as a young matron, introducing the royal family to the various faculties: Theology, Law, Philosophy and Medicine. They are accompanied by the goddess Minerva, who points to Peace, Victory and Abundance, who fly over this symbolic reception.
This image of King Charles III was paired with a portrait of his wife, Maria Amalia of Saxony (P2201), although the image of the queen was not painted in her presence. Instead, it was invented on the basis of other likenesses, as she died before the artist was able to paint her.Mengs’s effigie of Charles III became the monarch’s official image and was therefore the object of various replicas. One
A full-length portrait of Queen María Luis de Parma (1751-1819), wife of King Carlos IV (1748-1819), wearing a large feathered hat and French lace, with a seventeenth-century style bustle and the sort of large skirt flattened in front and back that replaced the farthingale. The only jewelry she wears is the Cruz Estrellada award. Her hand rests on a table covered with a tablecloth on which
This singular composition, which can be dated 1775, was painted at the height of the 18th century, although, in aesthetic terms, the Baroque was already in decline as it entered its final phase. Its decorative conception echoes the refinement of the rococo, although it draws much of its material from the anaglyphic repertory of the mature Renaissance—conveniently polished—when artists were recover
Born in 1727, Don Luis, son of Philip V and Isabella Farnese, was destined for an ecclesiastical career since childhood and is already shown here as a cardinal. He renounced his vows in 1754 and in 1776 his brother Charles III arranged his marriage to the young María Teresa de Vallabriga, a member of the minor nobility, with the aim of ending his numerous scandalous affairs. He was also str
A solemn prototype of the effigy of Charles III, who stands in armour in front of a purple hanging and a column, traditional symbols of royal power. Replica of P02200, on the occasion of the foundation of the Royal Order of Carlos III.
Of the people with whom Velázquez must have had contact on a daily basis at the palace, many would have been high functionaries or skilled servants of the court. His own social aspirations included becoming a member of that professional group, which he eventually joined, and he made portraits of some of them, including two now at the Museo del Prado: Diego del Corral, shown here, and his wi
A portrait of King Charles III (1716-1788), son of Philip V and Elizabeth of Farnesio, shortly before he died in Madrid on December 14, 1788. The king appears in a royal hunting preserve, either around El Escorial, or between the El Pardo Palace and the mountains of Madrid. He is dressed as a hunter, with the sashes of the Orders of Carlos III, Saint Januarius and the Holy Ghost, as well as the Go
In the mid-nineteenth century Federico de Madrazo produced some of the most successful portraits of the Spanish bourgeoisie during the reign of Isabel II (1833-68), presenting them with the opulence that their social status demanded. In addition to his remarkable artistic ability, his female portraits are outstanding for their depiction of the accessories and adornments. These details are emphasis