Philip IV, King of Spain

Philip IV (1605 - 1665) was crowned king of Spain in 1621. He was the son of Philip III and Margaret of Austria. During his reign Spanish foreign power declined; he failed to regain control of the north Netherlands and lost wars against France. But at home he proved to be an important patron of the arts. His court painter was Velázquez; two portraits by the artist of the king are in the Collection ('Philip IV of Spain in Brown and Silver' and 'Philip IV of Spain'), as well as a depiction of the monarch hunting ('La Tela Real').

Philip also employed the Flemish painter Rubens; the Collection includes a sketch by him for one of a series of pictures he was commissioned to paint for a hunting lodge outside Madrid ('A Lion Hunt').

The throne was inherited by Philip's only legitimate son Charles II.