 |
| Philip IV (1605–1665), King of Spain |
 |
| Painting in frame: overall |
 |
| Painting in frame: corner |
 |
| Painting in frame: angled corner |
 |
| Profile drawing of frame. W 5 1/8 in. 13 cm (T. Newbery) |
Artist:Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez) (Spanish, Seville 1599–1660 Madrid)
Date:probably 1624
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:78 3/4 x 40 1/2 in. (200 x 102.9 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
Philip is shown wearing a gold chain and the emblem of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Velázquez was paid for this portrait of the king on December 4, 1624. The artist had arrived in Madrid in the summer of 1623 and was made painter to the king that August. Don García Pérez de Araciel, an important person at court, commissioned the portrait, which is an autograph repetition of the official portrait Velázquez painted for the king (now in the Museo del Prado, Madrid). The 1624 receipt for the painting is also in The Met’s collection (for more information, visit metmuseum.org).
Catalogue Entry
The picture is one of three commissioned from Velázquez in 1624—not long after the artist was appointed court painter in Madrid. On December 4, 1624 he signed a receipt of payment for 800 reales, which must have been the residual sum he was owed. In addition to the MMA's portrait of Philip IV, one showed the king's all powerful favorite, Count Duke Olivares (Museu de Arte de São Paulo), and another showed Don García Pérez de Araciel y Rada (lost). Don García was closely associated with the court. He accompanied Philip IV to Seville in February March 1624, and was selected by Olivares to be vice chancellor to the Council of Aragon, a post he did not assume, as he died September 28, 1624. Velázquez was paid for the three pictures by Don García's widow, Doña Antonia de Ypeñarrieta, whose father had been a high dignitary at the court of Philip III. After her husband's death, she married Don Diego del Corral, a famous jurist: both Doña Antonia and Don Diego were also painted by Velázquez in 1631–32 (Museo del Prado, Madrid, inv. 1195, 1196).
In the summer of 1623 Velázquez was summoned to Madrid from Seville on the orders of Olivares. According to Francesco Pacheco's 1638 manuscript, Arte de la pintura (1956 ed., vol. 1, p. 156), he painted a portrait of his host, the royal chaplain Juan de Fonseca, which was shown at court to great acclaim. Then, on August 30, 1623 he painted a portrait of the king. He was formally admitted to Philip IV's service on October 6, 1623. The MMA's portrait must have been commissioned not long after this date and is Velàzquez's earliest, fully documented portrait of the king. However, x-ray examination reveals that the same composition underlies a somewhat later, full length portrait of Philip IV in the Museo del Prado, Madrid (inv. 1182; see Garrido Pérez 1992). Given its royal provenance, the Prado portrait is likely to have been the official portrait of the king, later repainted by Velázquez in a more fluid, accomplished style. The MMA picture would be an autograph replica of that first, official portrait, done for someone closely associated with the court. As observed by Cherry (1991), "ministers and courtiers were expected to own 'official' portraits of the King, his family and his 'privado', the better quality versions of which were supplied by Velázquez and his studio." Although the status of the MMA's picture has been much discussed, a thorough restoration undertaken in 2010 has revealed it to be a damaged but fully autograph work of high quality. An inferior, studio replica of the MMA painting is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A bust length portrait in the Meadows Museum, Dallas, that has sometimes been thought to be autograph seems also to be a workshop replica.
The Met owns the receipt (see figs. 1–2 above), the transcription of which is taken from Mélida 1906, p. 175:
[recto, above] "Mi S.a doña Antonia me a dicho escriba / a v. m. Como por su orden se le den al pintor / ochozientos realles que su S.a dara re / zibo de ellos para su descargo de / v. m. y en el entretanto que no se / le da sirbira esta. / Doña Antonia / de ypeñarrieta."
[recto, below] "A Ju.o de Cenoz. / Rui. de Ju.o de Cenoz cien Rs. que yo di al pintor / a quenta de los retratos y por que se a perdido el re / ciuo que yo tenia le di este al dicho Cenoz en Madr. / a 6 de dez. de 1624. / D. Antonia de Galdos."
[recto, perpendicular to rest of writing] "Di.o Velazqz.- / Carta de pago de 800 Rs. de Diego Velazquez. / Esta adentro Carta de pago de otros / 200 Rs."
[verso] "Digo yo Diego Velasquez pintor de Su mgd., que rece / ui de[l] Sor. Juan de Genos ocho cientos reales en uirtud / de la liurança destonotado y lo recebi por mano de / Topelucio Despinosa Vecino de Vurgos los quales / recibi a cuenta de los tres retratos del rey y del Conde /
de oliuares y el del Sr. garciperes y por ser uerdad / lo firme en madrid 4 de Dicienbre 1624. / Diego Velasquez."
The following translation of the receipt is taken from departmental files:
[recto, above] "My Lady Doña Antonia has told me to write to your Grace informing you that at her order 800 reales are to be given to the painter and that he will give you receipt for them for your obligations and until it is given this will serve for it. Doña Antonia De Ypeñarrieta"
[recto, below] "To Juan de Cenoz. Received from Juan de Cenoz 100 reales that I gave to the painter on the account of the portraits and because the receipt that I had was lost I gave this to the stated Cenoz in Madrid on 6 December, 1624. Doña Antonia de Galdos"
[recto, perpendicular to rest of writing] "Diego Velazquez. Receipt for 800 reales by Diego Velazquez. Accompanied by a receipt for another payment of 200 reales."
[verso] "I, Diego Velazquez, painter to his Majesty, declare that I have received from Señor Juan de Cenoz 800 reales in accordance with the specifications of this document which I received through Lopelucio d'Espinosa a resident of Burgos which money I received on account of the three portraits of the king and of the Count of Olivares and of Señor Garciperez in witness whereof my signature given at Madrid on the 4th of December 1624. Diego Velazquez"
Keith Christiansen 2010
Copyright Image
https://images.metmuseum.org
Comments
Post a Comment