Year 1548 Period Mannerism | Medium oil on canvas Created 1548 Genre Portrait | |
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Dimensions 117 cm × 98 cm (46 in × 39 in) Similar Titian artwork, Mannerism artwork, Portraits | ||
Portrait of isabella of portugal van der weyden top 9 facts
The Portrait of Isabella of Portugal is an oil-on-canvas portrait of Isabella of Portugal by Titian dating to 1548. It was part of the Spanish royal collection and is now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
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Description
The subject is Isabella of Portugal (1503–1539), wife of Charles I of Spain and daughter of King Manuel I of Portugal. Titian painted her after her death, using a mediocre painting for reference. The portrait follows a classic scheme already used by Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci, 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 the iconography imperial.
The figure wears a rich red dress and gold brocade and trimmed with rhinestones. It is decorated also with flashy jewelry, like a necklace of pearls with a clasp at the chest with gems hanging from another teardrop pearl, a ring on her right hand, or a jewel topped headdress, a rigid hairstyle very fashionable at the time, 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.