Description:
c.1815 Oil on canvas gilt framed portrail of King Philip IV of Spain.Attributed to Sir Thomas Lawrence crafted in the manner or style of Diego Velazquez, the Court Painter.
The painting was dated by an expert valuer to 1810-20 based on the frame, the age of the paint and also by the particular weave of the canvas, being of the type woven on the earliest canvas-making machine which was invented in 1805 in France and became used more widely from 1810 onwards.
The subject King Philip IV reigned from 1621-1665 having been born in 1605. He was called the Planet King (Rey Planeta) and reigned during the Thirty Years War, while also being renowned as a patron of some of the earliest great Old Master artists such as Spaniard Diego Velazquez and also Peter Paul Rubens the famous Flemish artist.
The last three great Old Masters of the British painters were John Singer Sargent, George Stubbs and Sir Thomas Lawrence. As masters themselves, they studied the forms of the older masters and re-worked their themes,… Read More