Diego Velázquez, 'Philip IV of Spain', about 1656

Philip IV of Spain

Diego Velázquez

Room 30

About the work

Overview

Velázquez painted many portraits of Philip IV, King of Spain, throughout his reign. This is the last painted image of the King by the man who served as his court artist from 1623. He looks middle-aged, and tired: his sagging flesh and puffy eyes suggest the weight of responsibility resting on his shoulders during his long reign (1621–65). As in many of Velázquez’s portraits, Philip sports his distinctive upturned moustache.

The King’s pale face stands out against the sombre black of his clothing and the plain background. He wears the Order of the Golden Fleece, a chivalric order whose pendant took the form of a suspended sheepskin, on a gold chain. The regular waves of Philip’s hair frame his face and rest neatly on his collar. He stares out steadily with a look that commands respect but is also intensely human.

In-depth

Philip IV, King of Spain, looks middle-aged, and tired: his sagging flesh and puffy eyes suggest the weight of responsibility resting on his shoulders during his long reign (1621–65), which began when he was only 16. This portrait was painted in about 1656, when Philip was facing particular challenges caused by the ongoing Thirty Years' War. He appears worn down by the loss of family and Spain’s declining political fortunes.

The King’s pale face stands out against the sombre black of his clothing and the plain background. His eyes stare out steadily, with a look that commands respect but is also intensely human. Velázquez has shown him as calm and dignified, his hair arranged in regular waves that frame his face and rest neatly on his collar. He wears the Order of the Golden Fleece, a chivalric order whose pendant took the form of a suspended sheepskin, on the gold chain around his neck. The pendant would have been instantly recognisable to seventeenth-century viewers.

Velázquez painted many portraits of Philip throughout the latter’s reign, and this is the last painted image of the King by the man who served him as court artist from 1623. This work makes an interesting contrast with an earlier, full-length portrait, Philip IV of Spain in Brown and Silver. The King’s black costume, which he habitually wore and in which he was usually depicted, is less ostentatious than in the other portrait, although he wears the same type of collar, called the golilla, and sports the same distinctive upturned moustache.

Velázquez’s brushwork is free, creating an impression of his subject instead of recording him in minute detail – a style typical of his later works. The form of Philip’s eyes is merely suggested and loose flicks of paint define the highlights on his chain, the gold buttons and the gold embroidery around his sleeves.

Philip seems to have approved of this portrait: many copies were made after it by Velázquez’s pupils, and given as gifts to members of the court and visiting dignitaries. The portrait was also engraved by Pedro Villafranca for the frontispiece of Francisco de los Santos’s Descripción breve de San Lorenzo el Real de El Escorial (1657). In 1658, shortly after painting this portrait, Velázquez was made a Knight of Santiago, an honour he had always desired and which was probably aided by the King’s support.

Key facts

Details

Full title: Philip IV of Spain
Artist: Diego Velázquez
Artist dates: 1599 - 1660
Date made: about 1656
Medium and support: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 64.1 × 53.7 cm
Acquisition credit: Bought, 1865
Inventory number: NG745
Location: Room 30
Collection: Main Collection
Subjects: Philip IV, King of Spain
Frame: 17th-century Spanish Frame

Provenance

In the collection of Prince Demidoff, San Donato, Florence, by September, 1862, and still there in September, 1864. Purchased from Emanuel Sano, Paris, in June, 1865. Arts Council Spanish Paintings Exhibition, 1947 (no. 32); Cleaned Pictures Exhibition, National Gallery, 1947/8 (no. 63).

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised by Allan Braham, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School’, London 1988; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2013

Velázquez and the Family of Philip IV

Museo Nacional del Prado

8 October 2013 - 9 February 2014
2019

Art and Empire: The Golden Age of Spain

The San Diego Museum of Art

18 May 2019 - 2 September 2019

Bibliography

1866

London, National Gallery Archive, NG17/3 Annual Reports 1856-1867: The National Gallery Report for the Year 1865, 1866
1925

J. Allende-Salazar, Velazquez: Der Meisters Gemalde in 275 Abbildungen, Berlin 1925
1925

L. Mayer, 'Velázquez and Philip IV', The Burlington Magazine, XLVII/269, 1925, pp. 62-3
1934

R.N.D. Wilson, The National and Tate Galleries, London 1934
1936

A. Mayer, Velazquez, London 1936
1952

Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School, London 1952
1970

N. MacLaren and A. Braham, The Spanish School, 2nd edn, London 1970
1977

V. Kemenov, Velázquez in Soviet Museums: Analysis and Interpretation of the Paintings in the Context of His Œuvre, trans. R. Keys, Leningrad 1977
1979

J. López-Rey, Velázquez: The Artist as a Maker, with a Catalogue Raisonné of His Extant Works, Lausanne 1979
1982

E. Harris, Velázquez, Oxford 1982
1985

M. Crawford Volk, 'Of Connoisseurs and Kings: Velázquez' "Philip IV" at Fenway Court', in Fenway Court, Boston 1985, pp. 23-35
1986

J. Brown, Velázquez: Painter and Courtier, New Haven 1986
1988

Maclaren, Neil, revised by Allan Braham, National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1988
1989

A. Domínguez Ortiz, A.E.P. Sánchez and J. Gállego, Velázquez (exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 3 October 1989 - 7 January 1990), New York 1989
1990

A. Domínguez Ortiz, A.E.P. Sánchez and J. Gállego, Velázquez (exh. cat. Museo Nacional del Prado, 23 January - 30 March 1990), Madrid 1990
1994

F. Haskell et al., Anatole Demidoff, Prince of San Donato (1812-70) (exh. cat. Wallace Collection, 10 March - 25 July 1994), London 1994
1996

L. Kagané, Diego Velázquez, Bournemouth 1996
1996

L. Tonini, I demidoff a Firenze e in Toscana, Florence 1996
1997

M. Marini, Velázquez, Maestri (Electa editrice) 8, Milan 1997
1998

Y. Bottineau, Velázquez, Paris 1998
1999

J. Baticle et al., Velázquez, Dossier de l'art 63, Dijon 1999
1999

A.E. Pérez Sánchez, 'Novedades Velazqueñas', Archivo español de arte, LXXII/288, 1999, pp. 371-90
2000

J.M. Pita Andrade and Á. Aterido (eds), Corpus Velazqueño: Documentos y textos, Madrid 2000
2000

M.P. McDonald, 'Pedro Perret and Pedro de Villafranca. Printmakers to the Spanish Hapsburgs', Melbourne Art Journal, IV, 2000, pp. 37-51
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2004

M. Morán and F. Checa Cremades, Velázquez, Bernini, Luca Giordano: Le corti del Barocco, (exh. cat. Scuderie Papali al Quirinale, 12 February - 2 May 2004), Rome 2004
2006

D. Carr (ed.), Velázquez (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 18 October 2006 - 21 January 2007), London 2006

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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You've viewed 6 of 8 works

Diego Velázquez, 'Philip IV of Spain', about 1656

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Exhibition history

Bibliography

About this record

Images

More works by Diego Velázquez