Offered by Galerie FC Paris
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Oil on canvas
Presented in a period carved and gilded wood frame, the so-called “flowered corner” model.
Total dimensions: 52.5 x 44 cm. Canvas alone: 40 x 31 cm
Portrait of the young Philip V painted around 1700 on his accession to the Spanish throne.
He is dressed in the Spanish fashion, with a black suit, golilla (neckerchief) and stiff cardboard collar lined with starched white taffeta. He wears the blue ribbon of the Order of the Holy Spirit and the grand collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece (thus presenting himself as grand master of the latter and head of the Spanish monarchy).
Grandson of Louis XIV and youngest son of the Grand Dauphin, Philip V was born on December 19, 1683 at the Château de Versailles, and died on July 9, 1746 at the Buen Retiro palace in Madrid. For forty-six years (1700-1746), he occupied the throne of the Spanish Empire, the leading power in Europe at the time. The seventeen-year-old prince was brutally transplanted to an unknown land after the death of the last king of the dynasty founded by Charles V, who recognized him as heir. Although he was immediately faced with a disastrous war and several personal tragedies, he set about his task and brought Spain into the age of modernity. He was also a great patron of the arts, especially music, and his long relationship with the castrato Farinelli has never ceased to intrigue historians.
This unjustly discredited king, plagued by severe bouts of melancholy, was inhabited by a profound piety and a very strong sexual appetite, which was satisfied by his two wives.
It is his direct descendant, King Felipe VI, who reigns today.
Hyacinthe Rigaud, born in Perpignan on July 18, 1659 and died in Paris on December 29, 1743, was a French portrait painter. Born in the former province of Catalonia (his real name in Catalan was Jacint Rigau-Ros i Serra), he spent most of his career in Paris. Noticed by Louis XIV, whom he painted in a now-famous portrait, Hyacinthe Rigaud became highly courted by all the nobility of France and Europe, while retaining a very loyal regional and local clientele.
Excellent condition. Sold with a certificate of appraisal.
