Philip III of Spain

This portrait of Philip III, king of Spain from 1598 to 1621, is an exact likeness of the monarch, from his actual height (about 5 ft. 4 in.) to his armor, which still exists in the royal collection. It is one of at least five versions of the portrait produced by court painter Juan Pantoja de la Cruz to stand in place of the king in palaces and government buildings. As you can see in the adjacent gallery and corridor, U.S. presidents such as George Washington and John Adams adopted this style of full-height portraiture for their images as elected officials, appropriating the powerful visual language of kingship. As official “chamber painter” at the Spanish court, Pantoja was the only person allowed to take the likeness of the king from life. His original drawing from a sitting with the king was carefully transferred to various canvases by tracing through the paper with powdered white gypsum on the back, after which Pantoja and his studio assistants would paint the replica portraits. Replicas like this one were sent as gifts to foreign courts or taken to disseminate the image of the king throughout his colonies. They indicate the power invested in the royal body and the ways that art helped maintain this position of authority.