''The Family of Philip V'' is an oil on canvas painting by the French artist

Louis Michel van Loo Louis-Michel van Loo (2 March 1707, Toulon – 20 March 1771, Paris) was a French Painting, painter. Biography He studied under his father, the painter Jean-Baptiste van Loo, at Turin and Rome, and he won a prize at the ''Académie Royale de ...

, completed in 1743. It features life-sized depictions of

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

and his family. The painting depicts the royal family in a fictional room and is in the style of French baroque and

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

art. The painting is one of a trio of paintings which bear the same name and are dated

1723 Events January–March * January 25 – British pirate Edward Low intercepts the Portuguese ship ''Nostra Signiora de Victoria''. After the Portuguese captain throws his treasure of 11,000 gold coins into the sea rather than s ...

Jean Ranc Jean Ranc (28 January 1674 – 1 July 1735) was a French painter, mainly active in portraiture. He trained under his father Antoine Ranc and his father's former student Hyacinthe Rigaud and served in the courts of both Louis XV of France and ( ...

, a smaller 1738 version and the 1743 rendition.Ragnhild Marie Hatton, Robert Oresko, G. C. Gibbs, Hamish M. Scott. (1997) ''Royal and republican sovereignty in early modern Europe'', Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. p. 667

The artist

Loo was a French artist who was born in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

in 1701. He trained under his father

Jean Baptiste van Loo Jean-Baptiste van Loo (14 January 1684 – 19 December 1745) was a French subject and portrait painter. Life and career He was born in Aix-en-Provence, and was instructed in art by his father Louis-Abraham van Loo, son of Jacob van Loo. ...

who, under the patronage of the

Prince of Carignan The House of Savoy-Carignano ( it, Savoia-Carignano; french: Savoie-Carignan) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Savoy. It was founded by Thomas Francis of Savoy, Prince of Carignano (1596–1656), an Italian military commander who was ...

, worked in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

. Loo became court painter in 1737 having replaced

. Loo came to the Spanish court of the House of Bourbon in 1737 where he worked till 1752. He was the premier painter to Philip V's son

Fernando VI , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Savoy , birth_date = 23 September 1713 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Madrid, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Villavic ...

but left Spain in 1757 returning to France. Van Loo, according to critics, was also influenced by Dutch art. Loo's younger brother

Charles Amédée Philippe van Loo Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

also had a successful career and went on to paint Empress

Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of ...

The painting

The painting is today held at the Museo del Prado in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. It is an expression of the strength the House of Bourbon brought to the throne with Philip V's succession in 1700. The king, the central male, sits next to his second wife,

Elisabeth Farnese Elisabeth Farnese ( Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She exerted great influence over Spain's foreign policy and was the ''de facto'' r ...

. Farnese's arm next to the crown is a symbolic representation of the power she had. Philip V and Maria Luisa's youngest son,

Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias (4 December 1571 – 18 October 1578) was a member of the House of Habsburg who was heir apparent to the Spanish throne. Biography Ferdinand was born in the Royal Alcázar of Madrid. He was the second son of ...

, heir to the throne at the time the painting was completed, is to the left of his father. The Princess of Asturias,

Barbara of Portugal Barbara of Portugal (Maria Madalena Bárbara Xavier Leonor Teresa Antónia Josefa; 4 December 1711 – 27 August 1758) was an Infanta of Portugal, and a Queen of Spain by marriage to Ferdinand VI of Spain. Life Princess of Portugal The marriage ...

, sits next to Philip V's eldest daughter Maria Anna Victoria of Spain; she had married Barbara's brother as part of a double marriage between

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in 1729. The central group includes the children of Philip V and Farnese. Between the king and queen is their youngest son the Cardinal Infante Louis who was later the Count of Chinchón. To the right of the queen is Infante Philip, later Duke of Parma, who stands above his wife Louise Élisabeth of France, ''Madame Infante'', daughter of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

. The two females standing above ''Madame Infante'' are the younger daughter of Philip V and Farnese, the Infanta's Maria Teresa Rafaela and her junior Maria Antonia. Maria Teresa Rafaela would marry ''Madame Infante's'' brother Louis, Dauphin of France in 1745 and Maria Antonia Fernanda married the future

King of Sardinia The following is a list of rulers of Sardinia, in particular, of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica from 1323 and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1479 to 1861. Early history Owing to the absence of written sources, little ...

in 1750. On the far right is

Maria Amalia of Saxony es, María Amalia Cristina Francisca Javiera Flora Walburga , spouse = Charles III of Spain , issue = , issue-link = #Issue , house = Wettin , father = Augustus III of Poland , mother = Maria Josepha of ...

sitting next to her husband Charles, then king of Naples and Sicily and later king of Spain. The couple were in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

at the time but returned to Spain at the death of Ferdinand VI in 1759. The wealth of materials depicted in the painting such as jewels, fabrics and the use of bright colours was previously unseen in paintings in Spain which had been traditionally dark and sombre, and was a reference to the

Flemish school Early Netherlandish painting, traditionally known as the Flemish Primitives, refers to the work of artists active in the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period. It flourished especiall ...

. Partially hidden by the extensive theatrical red curtain that falls from the roof there is a balcony where a band plays a concert. The real characters are in a large room opening onto a garden.

The sitters

Family of Philip V of Spain circa 1738 by van Loo

# Mariana Victoria of Spain, Princess of Brazil (1718-1781) future

queen of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the nea ...

. # Barbara of Portugal, Princess of Asturias (1711-1758) future

queen of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

. #

(1713-1759) future king of Spain. # King Philip V (1683-1746) # Cardinal Infante Louis (1727-1785) future count of Chinchón. # Queen Elisabeth (''Isabel'') (1692-1766) # Infante Philip (1720-1765) future duke of Parma. #

Louise Élisabeth of France es, María Luisa Isabel de Borbón it, Maria Luisa Elisabetta di Francia , spouse = , issue = Isabella, Archduchess Joseph of Austria-Tuscany Ferdinand I, Duke of Parma Maria Luisa, Queen of Spain , house = Bourbon , fa ...

(1727-1759) future

duchess of Parma Duchess consort of Parma House of Farnese, 1545–1731 House of Bourbon-Anjou, 1731–1735 :None House of Habsburg, 1735–1748 House of Bourbon-Parma, 1748–1802 House of Habsburg-Lorraine, 1814–1847 House of Bourbon-Parma ...

. # Infanta Maria Teresa (1726-1746) future

dauphine of France The Dauphine of France (, also , ) was the wife of the Dauphin of France (the heir apparent to the French throne). The position was analogous to a crown princess (the wife of a crown prince and heir apparent to a throne). List of Dauphines of Fr ...

. # Infanta Maria Antonia (1729-1785) future

queen of Sardinia This is a list of consorts of the Savoyard monarchs. Countess of Savoy, 1003–1416 Duchess of Savoy, 1416–1713 ;As courtesy title Queen of Sardinia, 1720–1861 Between 1859 and 1861 the Kingdom of Sardinia incorporated the majo ...

. #

(1724-1760) future queen of Spain. # Charles, King of Naples (1716-1788) future king of Spain. # Infanta Isabella (1741-1763) future

archduchess of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (german: Erzherzogtum Österreich) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periph ...

. #Maria Isabella Anna of Naples and Sicily (1743-1749) died in infancy.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Family of Philip V (1743) Paintings by Louis-Michel van Loo Rococo paintings 1743 paintings Paintings of the Museo del Prado by French artists Group portraits by French artists Dogs in art Paintings of children