Portrait of the Infante Felipe Próspero, Prince of Asturias (1657-1661), full-length

Name: MANNER OF DIEGO RODRÍGUEZ DE SILVA Y VELÁZQUEZ
Brand: Portrait of the Infante Felipe Próspero, Prince of Asturias (1657-1661), full-length
Price: 4500.00 GBP
Availability: SoldOut

Price Realised GBP 5,625

Estimate

GBP 7,000 - GBP 10,000

Closed: 17 Dec 2020

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MANNER OF DIEGO RODRÍGUEZ DE SILVA Y VELÁZQUEZ

Portrait of the Infante Felipe Próspero, Prince of Asturias (1657-1661), full-length

Price Realised GBP 5,625

Closed: 17 Dec 2020

Price Realised GBP 5,625

Closed: 17 Dec 2020

Details Lot Essay Related Articles More from

MANNER OF DIEGO RODRÍGUEZ DE SILVA Y VELÁZQUEZ
Portrait of the Infante Felipe Próspero, Prince of Asturias (1657-1661), full-length
oil on canvas
37¹⁄₈ x 27¹⁄₈ in. (94.3 x 68.9 cm.)

Auguste de Formanoir de la Cazerie (1820-1901), and thence by descent.

Notice sur quatres tableaux anciens exhibés à l'Exposition Néerlandaise de Bienfaisance à Bruxelles en 1873, Liège, 1877, no. 254, pp. 4-7, as 'Velázquez'.
Notice sur quelques tableaux anciens appartenant à M. le Général de Formanoir, in Congrès Archéologique de Tournai, 1895, p.17, as 'Velázquez'.

Brussels, Exposition de tableaux et dessins d'anciens maîtres, organisée par la Société néerlandaise de bienfaisance à Bruxelles, 1873, no. 254, as 'Velázquez'.

This lot is offered without reserve.
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Lot Essay

The sitter in this charming portrait can be identified as the Infante Felipe Próspero due to the numerous amulets that hang from his belt. The first son of Philip IV of Spain and his second wife Mariana of Austria, he was a sickly child and it was believed that these would ward off the evil eye, protecting him from infection. The artist has taken as his inspiration Velazquez’s portrait of 1659, which similarly shows the young Prince with his protective charms, arm outstretched (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum). Sadly, the great care that was lavished on the child could not prevent his death at the age of four. The affect this had on the King is clear from a letter to his friend Sister Maria, Abbess of Ágreda. ‘The long illness of my son and my constant attendance at his bedside have prevented me from answering your letter, nor has my grief allowed me to do so, until today. I confess to you, Sor María, that my grief is great, as is natural after losing such a jewel as this.’ (M. Hume, , London, 1907, p. 491.)