Philip IV, King of Spain
Artist
Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez)
(Spanish, 1599 - 1660)
Depicted
Philip IV
(Spanish, 1605 - 1665)
Datec. 1628–29, reworked c. 1631
CultureSpanish
MediumOil on canvas
ClassificationPaintings
ProvenanceBy 1833, Willem II van Oranje-Nassau (1792–1849), King of the Netherlands, Brussels; (sold Oranje-Nassau sale, Jeronimo de Vries, C. F. Roos, and J. A. Brondgeest, The Hague, 12–19 August 1850, lot 120, to Bruny, together with lot 121, a portrait by the same artist of the Count-Duke of Olivares, for 36,850 florins). (Charles J. Nieuwenhuys [1799–1883], Brussels and London); sold in 1853 to Robert Stayner Holford (1808–1892), Dorchester House, London; by descent to Sir George Lindsay Holford (1860–1926), Dorchester House, London; (sold Holford sale, Christie’s, London, 17–18 May 1928, lot 147 (illustrated), for £3,465); John Ringling (1866–1936), Sarasota, Florida; bequest in 1936 to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida.
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN336
Philip IV (1605-1665) ruled Spain and its dominions for over forty years during the 17th century. Much of his reign was spent at war, and it was as a military leader that Velázquez most often portrayed him. Indeed, this is probably the earliest of the artist's military portraits of Philip. Velázquez made several modifications to the composition such as the outline of the monarch's cape and armor and the position of the table. These changes, called pentimenti, are easily visible to the naked eye and testify to the young painter's search for an appropriate image for the powerful king.
On View
On viewLocation
- Museum of Art, Gallery 11, Wall East
Collections
Image: 82 3/8 x 47 5/8 in. (209.2 x 121 cm)