Workshop of JUAN PANTOJA DE LA CRUZ (Valladolid, ca. 1553 - Madrid, 1608).
"Portrait of Philip III.
Oil on canvas.
It has a descriptive label with attribution to Sanchez Coello on the back.
Measurements: 73,7 x 58,7 cm; 95 x 80,5 cm (frame).
This work from the workshop of Juan Pantoja de la Cruz reflects the austere and absolute bearing of the monarch Philip III, the undisputed protagonist of his time, as is faithfully reflected in his clothing, characterised by the richness of the qualities and the presence of the royal symbols such as the Golden Fleece, which is placed on the armour. This armour is inspired by the harnesses commissioned in Milan when the monarch was a child, which are now on display in the Royal Armoury of the Royal Palace in Madrid. With its long bust and austere black background, the work has similar aesthetic patterns to the portrait of Philip III, now in the Prado Museum, painted by Pantoja de la Cruz. This work was conceived between 1606 and 1608 for the Portrait Room in the Palace of El Pardo.
Juan Pantoja de la Cruz must have moved to Madrid at a very young age, where he trained in the studio of Alonso Sánchez Coello, the leading court portraitist of the time. From him Pantoja inherited the tradition of royal portraiture, which he in turn had learned from his master Antonio Moro. After his master's death in 1588, Pantoja began to paint independently and became the most important court portraitist of the last years of Philip II's reign and the first years of his successor. Between 1601 and 1606 he accompanied Philip III to Valladolid when the court moved. He probably trained with Bartolomé González and Rodrigo de Villandrando, the portraitists who worked most for the court until the arrival of Velázquez. With his work, Pantoja perpetuated the iconographic formulas previously established in royal portraiture, which sought to convey an image of courtly majesty as well as the idea of the reigning dynasty. Thus, rather than portraying a specific person or his psychology, the aim was to capture a solemn and imposing effigy surrounded by an august setting. He thus developed a precise, Flemish-rooted detailing in the rich, meticulously described costumes and enriched Antonio Moro's legacy with the Italian influence of Titian and Sofonisba Anguissola, well known at the Spanish court. In parallel to his career as a portraitist, Pantoja developed a lesser-known career as a religious painter, working mainly for clients in Madrid and Valladolid. He also undertook commissions on sacred subjects for royal sites, such as the paintings executed in 1603 for the queen's oratory in the Royal Palace in Valladolid. In his religious work his style changed in part, becoming more modern and open to new influences, especially those of the painters who came to Spain to work at El Escorial. Thus, we see in these paintings a new interest in naturalism and contrasts of light, reflecting what was being experimented with in Italy at the time. We also know that Pantoja produced other genres, such as still lifes, miniature portraits and frescoes, although no examples of these works have survived to the present day. Pantoja de la Cruz is currently represented in the Museo del Prado, the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Kunsthistorisches in Vienna, the Royal Collection in London, the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao, the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, the Museum of Fine Arts in La Coruña, the Víctor Balaguer Museum in Vilanova i la Geltrú, the Pedralbes Palace in Barcelona, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid, the San Telmo Municipal Museum in San Sebastián and other public and private collections.