Attributed to Blas de Prado

Essay:

Blas de (or del) Prado was born in the vicinity of Toledo during the reign of Charles I of Spain. Little is known about his education, though it appears that he was patronised by Philip II who sent him to Fez in Morocco in 1593. Here de Prado was to paint the court of Ahmad al-Mansur (1549 - 1603), his presence part of a concerted effort of diplomacy by both nations to work together against the Ottomans further east.

Most of de Prado's surviving work is religious in theme comprising altarpieces. Francisco Pacheco, a contemporary of de Prado's and a fellow painter, described him as one of the earliest Spanish still life painters and the teacher of a pioneer of the genre Juan Sánchez Cotán, though no still lifes definitely by de Prado remain. It has also been speculated that de Prado travelled to Italy as his work appears to be strongly influenced by Michelangelo and Italian classicism. De Prado appears to have been a talented portrait painter as well, judging by his only extant canvas in the Prado Museum - The Holy Family, dated 1589 - which features a beautiful and accomplished portrait of the theologian Alonso de Villegas.

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Pictured here at around the age of eleven or twelve Philip III (1578 - 1621) wears the Order of the Golden Fleece around his brocaded silver-thread doublet. A high ruff frames his face. From his shoulders hang luxurious Spanish sleeves and a sword is slung on a black belt around his waist. In his left hand he holds a hat covered in pearls and feathers asserting his dominion over both the sky and the sea.

Philip's approximate age in this portrait helps to date the picture to c.1590. Other portraits of Philip are usually painted later after he had ascended to kingship. In these portraits he often wears armour reflecting the aggressive policy he pursued against the Protestant English and Dutch during his tenure over the Eighty Years War. Even in the present portrait while still a boy it was vital that Philip appear strong and resolute. His elder half-brother Don Carlos Prince of Asturias had died insane around 20 years earlier, and so the present portrait was an important piece of propaganda to show the health and soundness of mind of the future king.

Philip ascended to the throne in 1598 and inherited a Spain which was both extremely powerful and beset by problems. His resolve was immediately tested by the ongoing Dutch revolt, naval skirmishes with England, as well as domestic trouble including famine and plague. The huge debts which his father and grandfather had run up attempting to quash Protestantism would trouble him and the nation for decades to come.

Despite these handicaps Philip achieved notable successes in his reign, not least his marriage to Margaret of Austria with whom he had a loving relationship and produced many heirs. He was also able to broker a truce with the Dutch which put Spain on a much stronger footing at the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War and allowed Spain to make significant territorial gains.

Another portrait of Philip III painted by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, inv. no. 2581) also from the early 1590s shows the prince in ceremonial armour and helps to confirm the identity of the young Philip III in the present picture.

Provenance:

Chateau de Vouzeron, Cher, France.
Private collection, UK.