Diego Velázquez, 'Philip IV of Spain in Brown and Silver', about 1631-2
About the work
Overview
Philip IV, King of Spain, was normally shown in fairly sombre clothing, so the unusual splendour of his costume here suggests that this work was made to celebrate something particular. In 1632, he wore a similar outfit for an important ceremony in which the Cortes of Castile pledged an oath of allegiance to his son and heir, Baltasar Carlos.
His sleeveless jacket and breeches, white silk sleeves and cloak are all richly embellished with silver thread, and his hat is decorated with delicate feathers. He wears the badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece (a prestigious chivalric order) and rests one hand on his sword. Philip appears as a young man, his impassive and assertive expression conveying his power.
We can see Velázquez’s signature on the petition Philip holds, identifying his position as court painter. The artist rarely signed his works, only those he considered important.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Philip IV of Spain in Brown and Silver
- Artist
- Diego Velázquez
- Artist dates
- 1599 - 1660
- Date made
- about 1631-2
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 195 × 110 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Inscribed
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1882
- Inventory number
- NG1129
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
- Subjects
- Frame
- 21st-century Replica Frame incorporating 17th-century Ornaments
Provenance
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.
Bibliography
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1883London, National Gallery Archive, NG17/4 Annual Reports 1874-1886: The National Gallery Report for the Year 1882, 1883
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1908P. Torre, 'Ropas, alhajas, cuadros y libros del Escorial, recobrados después de la Guerra de la Independencia', La Ciudad de Dios, LXXVI, 1908, pp. 395-413
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1937H.E.A. Furst, 'Velazquez's Philip IV. The Problems of Cleaning Old Paintings', Apollo, XXV/146, 1937, pp. 61-4
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1946L.-P. Fargue, Velázquez, Paris 1946
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1950J.R.H. Weaver, 'The Weaver Report on the Cleaning of Pictures in the National Gallery. Part I', Museum, III/2, 1950, pp. 113-76
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1952Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School, London 1952
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1958T. Crombie, 'Isabella of Bourbon by Velazquez: A Recorded Portrait in the Spanish Royal Collections, with Some Notes on Related Portraits of Philip Iv', The Connoisseur, CXLI, 1958, pp. 238-44
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1961A.A. MacGregor, Percyval Tudor-Hart, 1873-1954: Portrait of an Artist, London 1961
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1961T. Crombie, 'La reina Isabel de Borbón, por Velázquez (nuevo testimonio de los inventarios reales sobre la procedencia del retrato de la colección Luis-Felipe o "Huth")', Archivo español de arte, XXXIV/133, 1961, pp. 47-51
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1967G. de Andrés, 'Varia: Los cinco retratos reales de la Biblioteca de El Escorial', Archivo español de arte, XL/160, 1967, pp. 360-3
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1970N. MacLaren and A. Braham, The Spanish School, 2nd edn, London 1970
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1980J. Brown and J. Elliott, A Palace for a King: The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV, New Haven 1980
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1981A. Braham, El Greco to Goya: The Taste for Spanish Paintings in Britain and Ireland (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 16 September - 9 November 1981), London 1981
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1983M. Helston, Spanish and Later Italian Paintings, London 1983
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1985M. Crawford Volk, 'Of Connoisseurs and Kings: Velázquez' "Philip IV" at Fenway Court', in Fenway Court, Boston 1985, pp. 23-35
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1988Maclaren, Neil, revised by Allan Braham, National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1988
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1996J. López-Rey, Velázquez: Catalogue Raisonné, Cologne 1996
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1998Y. Bottineau, Velázquez, Paris 1998
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1998D. Davies, The Anatomy of Spanish Habsburg Portraits, London 1998
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1999J. Brown (ed.), Velázquez, Rubens y Van Dyck: Pintores cortesanos del siglo XVII (exh. cat. Museo Nacional del Prado, 17 December 1999 - 5 March 2000), Madrid 1999
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1999J. Baticle, 'Pour une meilleure connaissance de Velázquez', in J. Baticle et al., Velázquez, Dijon 1999, vol. 63
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2000J.M. Pita Andrade and Á. Aterido (eds), Corpus Velazqueño: Documentos y textos, Madrid 2000
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2000M.J. Sanz Serrano, 'Las joyas en la pintura de Velázquez', Goya, 277-278, 2000, pp. 240-51
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2001K. Hellwig, 'Las firmas de Velázquez', Boletín del Museo del Prado, XIX/37, 2001, pp. 21-46
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2004J. Portús et al., The Spanish Portrait from El Greco to Picasso (exh. cat. Museo Nacional del Prado, 20 October 2004 - 6 February 2005), London 2004
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2004A. Martínez Ripoll, 'Herrera el Viejo-Velázquez, "Una relación imposible"', in A.J. Morales and C. Sánchez de las Heras (eds), Symposium Internacional Velázquez, Actas, Seville 2004, pp. 73-86
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2006D. Carr (ed.), Velázquez (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 18 October 2006 - 21 January 2007), London 2006
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2008M.J.M. González, El mercado español de pinturas en el siglo XVII, Madrid 2008
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.