(Antwerp 1569–1622 Paris)
Portrait of Philip III of Spain, bust-length; and Portrait of Margaret of Austria, bust-length
both oil on panel, each 67 x 51 cm, unframed, a pair (2)

Provenance:
Private European collection

The present portraits show King Philip III of Spain (1578–1621), who ruled after the death of his father, Philip II, from 1598 onwards and Margaret of Austria (1584–1611), who Philip III married in 1599. Philip wears a ruff collar and a ceremonial cuirass in blued iron elaborately inlaid in gold with motifs referring to his power as a sovereign, as well as the order of the golden fleece. Margaret is dressed in a brocaded robe opulently decorated with foliate and floral motifs, as well as pearls and precious stones including the celebrated “joyel rico de los Austrias”, with the pearl known as “la Peregrina” as a pendant, which Margaret’s father-in-law, Philip II, had presented to Mary Tudor on their engagement and which had been returned to the Spanish crown after her death. Two small copper panels (28.5 x 22.5 cm each) of the same portraits, with minor differences, are conserved in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam and are attributed to the workshop of Frans Pourbus the Younger.

In the early 17th century Frans Pourbus worked as a court painter, first to Vincenzo Gonzaga in Mantua and from 1609 onwards, in Paris and he painted numerous portraits of this type, such as those of Maria de’ Medici (Florence, Palazzo Pitti), Eleonora de’ Medici (ibid.) and her husband, Vincenzo I Gonzaga (private collection), Henrietta Maria of France (Madrid, Prado), and Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain and her husband, Albrecht VII of Austria (copies in Bruges, Groeningemuseum). The present bust-length portraits seem to be based on the full-length portraits by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Prado, Madrid), which dated from 1606.

Provenance:
Private European collection

The present portraits show King Philip III of Spain (1578–1621), who ruled after the death of his father, Philip II, from 1598 onwards and Margaret of Austria (1584–1611), who Philip III married in 1599. Philip wears a ruff collar and a ceremonial cuirass in blued iron elaborately inlaid in gold with motifs referring to his power as a sovereign, as well as the order of the golden fleece. Margaret is dressed in a brocaded robe opulently decorated with foliate and floral motifs, pearls and precious stone including the celebrated “joyel rico de los Austrias”, with the pearl known as “la Peregrina” as a pendant, which Margaret’s father-in-law, Philip II, had presented to Mary Tudor on their engagement and which had been returned to the Spanish crown after her death.Two small copper panels (28.5 x 22.5 cm each) of the same portraits, with minor differences, are conserved in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam and are attributed to the workshop of Frans Pourbus the Younger.

In the early 17th century Frans Pourbus worked as a court painter, first to Vincenzo Gonzaga in Mantua and from 1609 onwards, in Paris and he painted numerous portraits of this type, such as those of Maria de’ Medici (Florence, Palazzo Pitti), Eleonora de’ Medici (ibid.) and her husband, Vincenzo I Gonzaga (private collection), Henrietta Maria of France (Madrid, Prado), and Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain and her husband, Albrecht VII of Austria (copies in Bruges, Groeningemuseum). The present bust-length portriats seem to be based on the full-length portraits by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Prado, Madrid), which dated from 1606.