Philip IV on Horseback

Diego Velazquez

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Keywords: PhilipHorseback

Work Overview

Felipe IV on Horseback (Equestrian Portrait of Philip IV)
Artist Diego Velázquez
Year 1635-1636
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensions 303 x 317 cm
Location Museo del Prado, Madrid


The Equestrian Portrait of Philip IV was a portrait of Philip IV of Spain on horseback, painted by Velázquez in 1635-36 as part of a series of equestrian portraits for the Salón de Reinos at the palacio del Buen Retiro in Madrid (a series that also included that of Philip's son prince Balthasar Charles).


Five equestrian portraits, those of Philip III, Queen Margarita, Isabella of Bourbon, Philip IV, and Prince Baltasar Carlos, belonged to the colossal decorative scheme of the Hall of the Realms in the Buen Retiro Palace. The scheme was organized by the Count-Duke of Olivares, with the aim of affirming the glory of the Spanish Monarchy during what was in fact a period of decline.


Philip IV on Horseback was of course the most important item in this cycle. The king is shown here in all his absolute might and power enjoying, as a contemporary account puts it, a triumph such as few heroes of the past or present could boast. Seventeenth-century Spanish horses, bred from crosses with Arab stallions, were famous for their proud bearing and temperamental beauty. Velázquez had the opportunity of observing them daily in the royal stables or when the king put them through their paces. The curvet represented the peak of equestrian skill, the moment when the rider had to gather all his strength together, and in this picture the king is making his mount curvet. Baroque art also understood this pose as signifying the sovereignty with which a monarch tamed the unruly power of the people or the animal savagery of an enemy.


In line with these ideas, and in a picture now lost, Rubens had already shown Philip IV on horseback triumphing over his enemies. Velázquez does not call upon the emotionally highly charged background usual in Rubens, nor does he employ any grand allegorical accessories. He also does not exaggerate the king's size by placing him in front of a very low horizon with tiny soldiers in the middle ground, as the Flemish master did in his portrait of Philip II. While Velázquez uses a more restrained pictorial rhetoric than Rubens, his royal horseman is livelier and more elegant than the subject in another famous painting - Titian's Charles V at Mühlberg. The pure profile emphasizes the fine outline of man and beast, and contrasts the rising movement of the horse with the falling slope of an extensive and idealized landscape. Its pigmentation, shot with beautiful shades of green and blue, is reminiscent of sixteenth-century Flemish landscapes.


Of the equestrian portraits painted for the Hall of Realms, this is the only one with a declaration of authorship. The lower left corner has been a customary place throughout the history of painting for the artist´s signature, and here it bears a sheet of paper. And yet, contrary to our expectations, it is blank. This is the painter´s way of telling the viewer that the originality of his style and the quality of his technique are more than sufficient to affirm his authorship. Velázquez used this method on other occasions, including The Surrender of Breda (P01172) and the equestrian portrait of Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares (P01181). But in a series with such complex origins and authorships as this set of equestrian portraits, it takes on a special meaning as, here, the artist takes responsibility for the entire canvas. This is unquestionably the most important work of the group and it is a masterpiece in its genre. In keeping with the decidedly martial character of the Hall of Realms, the present work emphasizes the monarch´s military responsibilities.


Like his father (P01176), Philip IV is depicted on a rearing horse, carrying a baton and wearing armor and a sash, all of which imbue the image with a sense of authority and firmness. Nevertheless, besides the very notable contrast in pictorial quality, this work differs subtly from the likeness of his father. The setting has changed. Rather than the marine background in the portrait of Philip III or the landscaped garden behind Margarita de Austria (P01177), the present work is set in an open landscape with a broad horizon over irregular terrain that closely resembles the foothills between Madrid and the Guadarrama -especially the area around the Sierra del Hoyo-, with its wooded meadows and undergrowth. This was a familiar setting for Velázquez, and it recalls the background in his Portrait of Prince Baltasar Carlos on Horseback (P01180) -although the latter had much more specific topographical references- as well as some portraits of buffoons and hunters, including Philip IV in Hunting Garb (P01184). Moreover, while Philip III is presented in a foreshortened view that brings dynamism and pomp to his image, his son appears here in rigorous profile. This perspective, and the fact that the king looks straight forward, rather than directly at the viewer, as his father did, brings a sense of serenity and majesty to this canvas. Equestrian portraits frequently used their iconographic and compositional resources to create images in which the idea of command is transmitted through violence, movement and energy. Here, however, Velázquez emphasizes the tranquility of power. The image itself is rooted in Titian´s portrait of the Emperor Charles V at Mühlberg (P00410), which was one of the most appreciated paintings in the Royal Collections. The two works have multiple similarities that affect both their composition and content. In each, a tree runs the entire height of the canvas on the left, framing the figures placed before an open landscape with an ample horizon that gives the sky an outstanding role. Also, both emphasize the tranquility and majesty of the protagonist, who knows how to rein in his mount.


As the likeness of the reigning monarch, the present work was the most carefully crafted and significant of the group and its content is subtly linked to two of the most important battle scenes. Both The Recovery of Bahia in 1664 (P00885) and The Surrender of Breda (P01172) offer very precise images of the Spanish monarchy as a strong institution that wields power in a fair and magnanimous fashion. And power, justice and magnanimity are perfectly depicted in the image of Philip IV that Velázquez generates here. There has been considerable speculation about when, and under what circumstances this work was painted, which is true of all six of the works that Velázquez created for the Hall of Realms, and for which he received various payments between August 1634 and June 1635 (Text from Portús, J.: El Palacio del Rey Planeta. Felipe IV y el Buen Retiro, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2005, p. 116).