Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain
Andrés López Polanco
1605–1615
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 210.6 × 109.3 cm (82 7/8 × 43 in.); Framed: 230.6 × 138.5 × 13.4 cm (90 3/4 × 54 1/2 × 5 1/4 in.)
- Genre
- oil on canvas
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
oil paintings (visual works)paintingluxurypaintcanvaslacejewelryportraits: female subjectoil on canvasportraitoil paint (paint)painting (image making)pearls17th Centurypainting techniquesSpainchairportraitsoil paintingeuropean paintingqueensnobilityspanish
About
Margaret of Austria, wife of King Philip III of Spain, stands resplendently dressed, her royal authority conveyed through the portrait’s formality as well as her sumptuous attire. She is bedecked with jewels: Her brocade skirt is held closed with decorative clasps called puntas; large pearls and gemstones adorn her chest, waist, and arms. The rigidity and painstaking detail of portraits of the Spanish royal family were traditional for paintings that were frequently copied to serve as diplomatic gifts. This painting is a copy of a portrait of the queen by the official court painter Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Museo del Prado, Madrid).