Attributed to ALONSO SÁNCHEZ COELLO (Benifaró de los Valles, Valencia, 1531/32 - Madrid, 1588).

Attributed to ALONSO SÁNCHEZ COELLO (Benifaró de los Valles, Valencia, 1531/32 - Madrid, 1588). "Portrait of Philip II. Oil on canvas. Presents descriptive label located on the back. Measurements: 73,7 x 58,7 cm; 95 x 80,5 cm (frame). Based on the model of Pantoja de la cruz. This work is inspired by the portrait of Philip III by Juan Pantoja in the Prado Museum. The work was conceived between 1606 - 1608 for the Portrait Room of the Palace of El Pardo. The piece follows more faithful models of another work in the Palacio del Pardo, a copy of the original model by Pantoja's workshop. However, the artist of this piece dispenses with Pantoja's decorated background, placing the protagonist in a sober and austere interior that does not detract from the King's prominence, a characteristic of Sánchez Coello's painting, as can be seen in the portrait of Philip II, which belongs to the collection of the Museum of History in Vienna. Philip III was the undisputed protagonist of his time, as is faithfully reflected in his clothing, characterized by the richness of the qualities and the presence of royal symbols such as the Golden Fleece, which is arranged on the armor. The armor was inspired by the armor ordered in Milan when the monarch was a child and is currently on display in the Royal Armory of the Royal Palace in Madrid. These armors were richly decorated with iconographic motifs, alluding to royal power through allegories. Due to its formal characteristics we can relate this work to the hand of Alonso Sánchez Coello, one of the most outstanding representatives of the Spanish 16th century, painter of Philip II's chamber. He lived as a child in Portugal and began his training in Lisbon, where he would later become the protégé of King John III. He later went to Flanders, where he completed his training with Antonio Moro. He returned to Lisbon in 1552 as painter to the royal family, although only three years later he was already in Spain, where he was the official portraitist of Felie II and his family. He was therefore one of the most prominent figures of Spanish Mannerist portraiture and in fact his daughter, Isabel Sanchez, was his pupil and follower, also an important portrait painter. Works by Sánchez Coello are currently held in the Prado Museum, the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna, the Fine Arts Museum in Bilbao, the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City, the Meadows Museum in Dallas, the Royal Collections at Hampton Court in the United Kingdom, the Monastery of the Descalzas Reales in Madrid, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Royal Collection in London, among others.