The ''Portrait of Isabella of Portugal'' is an oil-on-canvas portrait of

Isabella of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress Isabella of Portugal (24 October 1503 – 1 May 1539) was the empress consort and queen consort of her cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, and Duke of Burgundy. She was Queen of Spain and Germany, and L ...

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

dating to 1548. It was part of the

Spanish royal collection The Spanish royal collection of art was almost entirely built up by the monarchs of the Habsburg family who ruled Spain from 1516 to 1700, and then the Bourbons (1700–1868, with a brief interruption). They included a number of kings with a seri ...

and is now in the

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

in Madrid.

Description

The subject is Empress Isabella of Portugal (1503–1539), the beloved wife of

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...

, mother of

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

and daughter of

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, a ...

. Titian painted her after her death, using a mediocre painting for reference.Tiziano Vecellio, Charles Hope, Jennifer Fletcher, Jill Dunkerton, Miguel Falomir Faus, Nicholas Penny, Caroline Campbell, Amanda Bradley, and David Jaffe. 2003. ''Titian: ational Gallery, London 19 February – 18 May 2003'. London: National Gallery. p. 36. . For the rest of his life, Charles took the painting with him on all his travels. The portrait follows a classic scheme already used by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

and

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

, in which the model sits next to a window opening on a landscape. The landscape gives depth to the composition, and its greenish and bluish tones provide a contrast to the interior scene dominated by warm colors. The figure shows some stiffness, possibly related to the concept of majesty as used in imperial iconography. She wears a rich red dress and gold brocade and trimmed with rhinestones. It is decorated also with flashy jewelry: a necklace of pearls with a clasp at the chest with gems hanging from another teardrop pearl, a ring on her right hand, and a jewel-topped headdress. Her rigid hairstyle, very fashionable at the time, is made up with braids. The Empress holds an open book in her left hand, perhaps a missal or prayer book, and looks at a distant point with preoccupied expression.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait of Isabella of Portugal 1548 paintings Isabella of Portugal, Portrait of Paintings by Titian in the Museo del Prado

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...