Philip IV (1605–1665) in Parade Armor | Attributed to Gaspar de Crayer | All | European Paintings | Collection Database | Works of Art

Gallery LabelThis striking portrait shows Philip IV in a suit of armor that was made in Brussels and still exists in the royal armory in Madrid. The artist has, however, taken some liberties so that the armor would entirely encase the king's legs. Philip also wears the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

The attribution of the picture has been much debated. Long ascribed to the Flemish painter Gaspar de Crayer (1584–1669), it has also been ascribed to the Madrid artist Juan Bautista Maino. Maino advised the king on artistic matters and participated in the decoration of the royal palace of the Buen Retiro, Madrid. This portrait seems to date from the mid-1620s and is therefore more or less contemporary with the one painted by Velázquez that hangs nearby. Another closely related portrait—also ascribed to de Crayer—shows Philip IV with a dwarf (Palacio de Viana, Madrid).

NotesOur picture seems to have served as the model for a portrait of Philip IV in the Palacio Viana, Madrid, which has been associated with the Flemish painter Gaspar de Crayer through an early inventory.

ProvenanceHelen Hay (Mrs. Payne) Whitney, New York (until d. 1944; as "Portrait of a King" in the Manner of Zuchero, pendant to 45.128.15)

References

José López-Rey. "Maino y Velázquez, dos retratos de Felipe IV en el Metropolitan Museum de Nueva York." Colóquio no. 25 (1963), pp. 15–18.

José López-Rey. "A Portrait of Philip IV by Juan Bautista Maino." Art Bulletin 45 (1963), pp. 361–63, fig. 1.

Shirley Sanford. Letter. February 14, 1964 [see old catalogue card].

Matías Díaz Padrón. "Gaspar de Crayer un pintor de retratos de los Austria." Archivo español de arte 38 (1965), pp. 238–39, fig. 3.

José López-Rey. "Sobre la atribución de un retrato de Felipe IV a Gaspar de Crayer." Archivo español de arte 39 (1966), pp. 195–96.

Hans Vlieghe. "Caspar de Crayer als Bildnismaler, seine Entwicklung bis etwa 1630." Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien, n.s., 27 (1967), pp. 99–101, fig. 91.

José López-Rey. Velázquez' Work and World. London, 1968, p. 42, pl. 37.

Diego Angulo Íñiguez and Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez. Historia de la pintura española: Escuela madrileña del primer tercio del siglo XVII. Madrid, 1969, p. 321.

Hans Vlieghe. Gaspar de Crayer, sa vie et ses oeuvres. Brussels, 1972, vol. 1, pp. 258–59, no. A259; vol. 2, fig. 236.

Priscilla E. Muller. "Maino, Crayer, Velázquez and a Miniature of Philip IV." Art Bulletin 58 (March 1978), pp. 87–89, fig. 3.

José López-Rey. Velázquez: The Artist as a Maker, with a Catalogue Raisonné of His Extant Works. Lausanne, 1979, pp. 32, 158–59 n. 64, pl. 15.

Julián Gállego. Diego Velázquez. Barcelona, 1983, p. 55.

Walter A. Liedtke. Flemish Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1984, vol. 1, pp. 32–34; vol. 2, pl. 17.

Leticia Ruiz Gómez. E-mails to Keith Christiansen. April 1 and April 3, 2009.

Curatorial Department

European Paintings: All