Juan Pantoja de la Cruz Madrid 1551 - 1608

There is an old, sympathetic relining which is sound. The paint surface is well preserved but is covered by a dirty varnish. There have been at least two rounds of restoration and the restoration isa mostly confined to the flesh tones. There is a small restored hole in the upper left (1.5 by 4 cm). There are some scattered old retouchings to the face, the most concentrated areas being on her cheek and jawbone, the upper right of her forehead and a line down the bridge of her nose. There are further retouchings to her hands. Inspection under ultra-violet light is somewhat inhibited by the dirty varnish but a degree of further old restoration should be allowed for. Sold with a later gilt wood frame, in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The sitter was the daughter of the Archduke Charles of Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria, and the sister of the Emperor Ferdinand III. She married Philip III, King of Spain (1578-1621) on 18 April 1599. She devoted her life to pious foundations and works of charity, including the foundation of the Descalzas Franciscas in Valladolid (1600-15) and the convent of La Encarnación in Madrid (1611), which was an important centre for artistic patronage in the second decade of the 17th century. She had eight children, among them the future King Philip IV and his sister Anna, later wife of Louis XIII of France.

Juan Pantoja de la Cruz worked for the Spanish royal family from about 1590 onwards, and on Philip III's accession to the throne in 1598 became official portrait painter to the court and the nobility of Madrid. His style, with its restrained demeanour and close attention to pattern and detail, was formed upon that of his mentor, Alonso Sanchez Coello, in whose workshop he was an oficial and on many of whose late works he certainly collaborated.  He painted a good number of portraits of the Queen, the most important of which are probably those of 1604 (Houston, Museum of Fine Arts), 1605 (London, Royal Collection, Buckingham Palace) and 1606 (Madrid, Prado), all painted in Valladolid, where the court was established between 1601 and 1606. The present work is closest to another three-quarter length of the Queen, painted in the same year, 1607, and now also in the Prado,¹  in which the young monarch is similarly shown in relatively informal dress against a plain curtained background. As the inscription implies this and the present portrait were both painted in Madrid following the court's return the previous year.

The attribution to Pantoja has been endorsed by Prof. Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez (letter dated 15 September 2004), to whom we are grateful.

1  Museo del Prado. Inventario General de pinturas., vol. I, La Colección Real, Madrid 1990, p. 223, no. 222, reproduced.