Spanish school; 17th century.

Spanish school; XVII century.
"Felipe IV".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Measurements: 54 x 40 cm; 68 x 53 cm (frame).
This work is a copy of the last portrait that Velázquez made of Philip IV, painted between 1653 and 1657, which is currently preserved in the Prado Museum. In this work, although Velázquez portrays the monarch with respect and dignity, the traces of fatigue, the passage of time and the many concerns that plagued the king in those years are evident on his face. It is a very different work from his previous portraits: a simple bust. In this portrait the attention is focused on the face.
In the 17th century, copies of royal portraits were common, commissioned to be placed in the palaces of important aristocrats and prelates. However, triumphal images of the monarch were often chosen, generally captured during his youth, so it is rare that this late portrait of Philip IV was copied at the request of a provincial commissioner who wished to honor his king. It would therefore be a copy made in Madrid by a follower of Velázquez, painted in order to study both the formal characteristics of a mature work of the master and the deep psychological characterization of the character. In fact, a similar portrait of Philip IV, also executed by Velázquez, which must have been a sketch for the portrait of the king in "Las Meninas", is preserved in the National Gallery in London. It differs from the previous portrait because in the London portrait the king does not wear the chain with the Golden Fleece.