Portrait of Elisabeth of Valois (1545–1568), Queen of Spain, three-quarter-length,
oil on canvas, 112 x 88 cm, framed

We are grateful to Gloria Martínez-Leiva for her help in cataloguing the present painting.

In this portrait of Elisabeth of Valois, third wife of King Philip II of Spain, the queen, in noble formality, is depicted wearing a black velvet gown with round sleeves from which her slashed red silk undersleeves embroidered with gold and silver threads are visible. On her head is a tilted flat cap which, like the buttons adorning the gown, is decorated with diamonds and rubies. Elisabeth would have dressed in this manner for solemn events, embellishing her outfit with jewellery such as the necklace, belt, and double string of pearls depicted here. Her complex hairstyle is interwoven with pearls. The right side of her head is adorned with a pendant consisting of a diamond, a ruby, and a pearl. This pendant would be inherited by her daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia, who was also depicted wearing it. Following custom in the sixteenth century, the underside of the diamonds is dyed black. Protruding from the collar of her dress is a ruff sewn with small, flat gold beads, which she wears in other portraits. The gown is adorned with red ribbons with gold aiglets set with small Indian rubies and pearls, which are described in her inventory.

Elisabeth of Valois became Philip II’s third wife in 1559, aged fourteen. At her wedding she met the painter Sofonisba Anguissola. Philip II appointed Sofonisba to be a lady-in-waiting and court painter for the queen. Under Anguissola’s tutelage, Elisabeth improved her amateur painting skills. Anguissola also influenced the artistic works of her children, Isabella Clara Eugenia and Caterina Michaela, during her time at the court. Sofonisba made various portraits of the queen including a lost prototype of the present composition which is believed to have been executed in 1561, and several versions by the Royal workshop are documented. These portraits were often destined to be sent to foreign courts as diplomatic gifts or means of dynastic propaganda.

Described in various inventories, the portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola was kept at El Pardo palace, where it was destroyed in a fire in 1604. In 1605, Juan Pantoja de la Cruz was commissioned to paint a copy after the perished portrait, which, together with the present painting, gives a wonderful impression of what the lost prototype would have looked like (Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, Portrait of Elisabeth of Spain, oil on canvas 120.1 cm x 84 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid, inv. no. P001030). Pantoja must have based his version of 1605 on existing models. It is unclear whether the present portrait is based on the lost model by Sofonisba Anguissola, or if it is related to Pantoja’s version. A very similar portrait is conserved in the Musée de Grenoble (oil on canvas, 110 x 83 cm, inv. no. MG 1757). Pantoja’s portrait is mentioned in subsequent inventories, such as that of 1653, as still being in the new portrait gallery at El Pardo. Its presence there can be traced, albeit increasingly vaguely, until the end of the seventeenth century.

Philip II was completely enchanted by his 14-year-old bride. Despite the significant age difference, Elisabeth was also pleased with her husband. Philip enjoyed hosting chivalric tournaments to entertain his wife. Elisabeth would play liege lady to the three young princes of the Spanish Court: Carlos, Prince of Asturias, John of Austria (illegitimate son of Charles V), and Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (son of Charles V’s illegitimate daughter Margaret). Elisabeth had originally been betrothed to Philip’s son, Carlos, Prince of Asturias, but political complications unexpectedly necessitated instead a marriage to Philip. Her relationship with her troubled stepson Carlos was warm and friendly. However, Carlos’ mental instability made a new male heir desirable and producing one became an essential duty for the new queen. This aspect is apparently alluded to by the gold marten’s head she holds in one hand, which is attached to the gold chain embellished with diamonds and coloured enamel in her other hand. The properties of this animal of the weasel family, described in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, included conceiving and giving birth through the ear (or mouth). The queen’s account books mention several diamond-studded martens’ heads of this kind with gold claws and ruby eyes, which were fitted to pelts in place of the head and paws.