ESSA Lisbon: Portrait of Philip IV by Velázquez

 

A brief and breezy walk down the street from our Lisbon hostel was a curious and eclectic museum. It was called the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum and it held exquisite yet focused collections of art from Ancient Egypt all the way to William Turner. One painting that caught my eye was Diego Velázquez’s Portrait of Philip IV completed in 1644. Sporting a robe so richly embroidered it would make your grandma swoon and a white neckpiece thing that would remind your other grandma to get new furniture doilies, King Philip sits regally with a scepter in his hand and sword at his hip. Set against a dark background, the viewer's eyes are directed to the serious and mustached face of the ruler of Spain.

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was named the Spanish court painter to Philip IV in 1623 and likely completed this painting to serve as a piece of propaganda for the Spanish ruler. In 1644, Velázquez accompanied the king on his military quest to quell a Catalonian uprising. The painter likely finished this work in an improvised studio in the Spanish military base at Fraga. He painted Philip victorious and then shipped the painting off to Madrid to symbolically represent the king at a mass in the Church of San Martin (Source: the plaque in the museum, pic 2). While I find portrait paintings a little dry, this portrait is rich with historical context.

This is no doubt why it was acquired by Gulbenkian for his private collection and it likewise contributes to Lison’s status as a cultural capital. Philip IV of Spain was also Philip III of Portugal (it doesn’t make much sense to me either, but bear with me) and for Lisbon to have such a magnificent piece of art from such a renowned artist dripping, as it were, with cultural relevance puts Lisbon on the map in a big way. This helps not only disseminate the story of the history of Portugal to future generations but also stands as an anchor for Portuguese culture today.