Diego Velázquez, 'Philip IV of Spain in Brown and Silver', about 1631-2

Philip IV of Spain in Brown and Silver

Diego Velázquez

Room 30

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.

In-depth

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. Philip stands beside a plain wooden table covered in a red velvet cloth, matching the draped curtain behind him. His expression is impassive but assertive, and his luxurious clothing conveys his power.

Philip’s sleeveless jacket and breeches are made from purplish-brown fabric (now faded to brown) woven with silver motifs, and further embellished with silver appliqués and buttons; silver lace adorns the edge of his cloak. The white sleeves, shimmering with silver, are probably made of silk. His hat, on the table beside him, is decorated with delicate feathers. He wears the badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece (a prestigious chivalric order) on a gold chain and rests one hand on the hilt of his sword.

The King holds a petition signed by Velázquez, identifying his position as ‘Painter to Your Majesty’ and presumably declaring his allegiance to the monarch. Velázquez rarely signed his works, only those he considered important. He became court painter through his skill as a portraitist, and painted Philip IV and his family over four decades. Although the King would not have posed for every painting, this portrait was apparently done from life and the head served as a prototype for other half- and full-length portraits of the King, both by Velázquez and by his workshop. It was probably painted shortly after the artist returned from Italy in early 1631, as it shows a significant change in the King’s appearance compared to portraits from the 1620s – notably his facial hair, styled into a curly moustache and beard.

In 1629 Philip’s son and heir, Baltasar Carlos, was born and the Cortes of Castile were invited to pledge an oath of allegiance to the crown prince. This was one of the most important ceremonies of Philip’s reign and took place in the church of San Jerónimo in Madrid in 1632. A contemporary account of the King’s costume during this event suggests it was similar to the one we see here; Velázquez was perhaps commissioned to commemorate the occasion.

Velázquez experimented with his painting technique in this portrait: the daubs and squiggles of paint might appear haphazard close up, but from a distance they conjure a brilliant impression of light and texture. The surface effects in this picture are especially dazzling because it is one of Velázquez’s best-preserved works.

During the mid-seventeenth century this portrait was recorded in the Escorial Library, housed within the Monastery of San Lorenzo near Madrid, and it may indeed have been commissioned with that location in mind. The painting was part of a group of four portraits that included the King’s predecessors – Charles V, Philip II and Philip III – thus establishing Philip’s place in the Habsburg dynasty.

The National Gallery’s collection also includes the bust-length Philip IV of Spain by Velázquez, while Philip IV hunting Wild Boar shows the King and his courtiers taking part in a rural hunt.

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: Room 30
Collection: Main Collection
Previous owners: William Thomas Beckford

Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton

Samuel Woodburn
Subjects: Philip IV, King of Spain
Frame: 21st-century Replica Frame incorporating 17th-century Ornaments

Provenance

Almost certainly identifiable with the portrait of Philip IV mentioned in 1764 as being in the library of El Escorial, and probably first taken there in the seventeenth century. Removed in November, 1809, on behalf of Joseph Bonaparte, by whom given to General Dessolle († 1828) in January, 1810. Purchased from Dessolle’s daughter by Woodburn and sold to William Beckford. Said to have been bought in at a Beckford sale; at his death in 1844 it passed into the collection of Beckford’s son-in-law, the 10th Duke of Hamilton. Purchased for the National Gallery at the Hamilton sale, London, 17 June sqq., 1882 (lot 1142; 6,000 gns.). Arts Council Spanish Exhibition, 1947 (no. 31); Cleaned Pictures Exhibition, National Gallery, 1947 (no. 62).

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

1883

London, National Gallery Archive, NG17/4 Annual Reports 1874-1886: The National Gallery Report for the Year 1882, 1883
1908

P. 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
1937

H.E.A. Furst, 'Velazquez's Philip IV. The Problems of Cleaning Old Paintings', Apollo, XXV/146, 1937, pp. 61-4
1946

L.-P. Fargue, Velázquez, Paris 1946
1950

J.R.H. Weaver, 'The Weaver Report on the Cleaning of Pictures in the National Gallery. Part I', Museum, III/2, 1950, pp. 113-76
1952

Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School, London 1952
1958

T. 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
1961

A.A. MacGregor, Percyval Tudor-Hart, 1873-1954: Portrait of an Artist, London 1961
1961

T. 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
1967

G. de Andrés, 'Varia: Los cinco retratos reales de la Biblioteca de El Escorial', Archivo español de arte, XL/160, 1967, pp. 360-3
1970

N. MacLaren and A. Braham, The Spanish School, 2nd edn, London 1970
1980

J. Brown and J. Elliott, A Palace for a King: The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV, New Haven 1980
1981

A. 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
1983

M. Helston, Spanish and Later Italian Paintings, London 1983
1985

M. Crawford Volk, 'Of Connoisseurs and Kings: Velázquez' "Philip IV" at Fenway Court', in Fenway Court, Boston 1985, pp. 23-35
1988

Maclaren, Neil, revised by Allan Braham, National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1988
1996

J. López-Rey, Velázquez: Catalogue Raisonné, Cologne 1996
1998

Y. Bottineau, Velázquez, Paris 1998
1998

D. Davies, The Anatomy of Spanish Habsburg Portraits, London 1998
1999

J. 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
1999

J. Baticle, 'Pour une meilleure connaissance de Velázquez', in J. Baticle et al., Velázquez, Dijon 1999, vol. 63
2000

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

M.J. Sanz Serrano, 'Las joyas en la pintura de Velázquez', Goya, 277-278, 2000, pp. 240-51
2001

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

K. Hellwig, 'Las firmas de Velázquez', Boletín del Museo del Prado, XIX/37, 2001, pp. 21-46
2004

J. 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
2004

A. 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
2006

D. Carr (ed.), Velázquez (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 18 October 2006 - 21 January 2007), London 2006
2008

M.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.

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You've viewed 6 of 8 works

Diego Velázquez, 'Philip IV of Spain in Brown and Silver', about 1631-2

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Bibliography

About this record

Images

More works by Diego Velázquez