Art Beyond Sight: Handbook

PHILIP IV, KING OF SPAIN

Philip IV, King of Spain is a portrait painted by the artist Diego Velazquez. It is oil on canvas. Velazquez painted it around 1625 to 1635. Today the painting is in the collection of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida.

The dimensions of the painting are 82 and 3/8 inches high by 47 and 5/8 inches wide. Or 209.1 centimeters by 121 centimeters.

In this portrait of Philip IV, we see the full figure of the king when he was about twenty-three years old. His body is over 6 feet tall and he dominates the frame, standing almost directly in the center, with a strong light on his face and body. The room where he's standing is mostly in shadow and contains few objects. On the right side of the painting, there is a small wooden table, covered by a red velvet cloth with gold embroidery. On the table is the king's hat with a plume or feather sticking up out of it. On the left side of the painting, there is a column but it's partially hidden behind the king. Also behind the king there is a wall tapestry, but it's in partial shadow so it's impossible to tell see what's in the tapestry.

Philip's body is turned so that it faces the right edge of the painting. His right arm, right side, and right leg are turned toward us. They are, therefore, closest to us. To understand his pose, I'd like you to try to imitate it now.

First of all, stand up straight. Now bring your left foot back so your left heel is a few inches directly behind your right heel and pointed to the left. Your feet should be at almost a right angle, with your right foot pointing straight forward and your left foot pointing to the left. This stance puts the right side of your body forward.

Now place your left hand on your left hip. Philip is wearing a sword, so imagine that you have a sword attached to your belt and your left hand is resting on the sword's handle. Your right arm should fall straight down to your side. Your right hand holds a baton, which is a stick about 2 and 1/2 feet long. The baton is a symbol of the king's power. Imagine you are holding the baton so that it is horizontal. If you were the stand-in for Philip in this painting, your chest would face toward your left, or the painting's right edge. And your face would be turned right, looking straight toward the viewer outside the painting.

Ok, you can sit down now.

The king's stance is very elegant, but would feel very uncomfortable after a short time. The stance looks very posed. Velazquez paints this tranquil and composed moment for a specific purpose: to emphasize the stability of Philip's kingly presence. As though the king is saying, I am here and I will remain at my post no matter what happens. Velazquez also emphasizes the king's importance by how he frames the scene. The side edges of the frame cut off parts of the column on the left and the table on the right. Except for the king, everything in the painting is fragmentary. Only the king is shown whole and complete. So the viewer immediately focuses on the monarch.

One of the astonishing features of a Velazquez painting is how realistic it is, almost like a photograph. He had the ability to use paint to precisely portray color, form, texture, or the play of light over an object. You can see this clearly in the clothes Philip wears.

A round white lace collar is directly below his face. Below his collar is a crimson-colored silk cloak. The cloak covers part of his chest, crosses over his shoulders, and hangs down behind him. The cloak billows out behind the king as though a light breeze is blowing its fabric. The cloak's bottom edge is trimmed with gold lace. The sleeves are made of iridescent silk patterned with horizontal stripes.

On his hands, he wears gauntlets, which are gloves with large cuffs. The gloves are made of brown suede and are embroidered with gold. On his torso he wears a tunic, which is a long vest or jacket. The tunic is made of bright yellow buckskin. On his legs he wears brocade breeches, which are brown and puffed. They end at mid-thigh. He wears brown leather boots that come up to his breeches. The boots have gold spurs on the heels.

The richness and realistic detail of his magnificent clothing keeps us looking at the king. As does his size and placement in the frame that we described a few minutes ago. But it's much easier to look at his clothing than to try and understand what kind of man he was. In fact, we learn very little about his inner personality from this portrait. Philip looks out at the viewer, but there is no real communication between the king and the viewer.