Miguel Jacinto Meléndez

Exhibited by Colnaghi

Material oil on canvas, in a painted oval

Dimensions 134 x 155 cm

Status Vetted

About the Work

This imposing portrait depicts King Philip V of Spain (1683-1746) in three-quarter view within a fictive oval frame. He wears a wig in the French style and is attired in a silver-grey cloak with pompous gold sleeves over a burnished cuirass, completed by a delicate jabot. The regalia of two prestigious orders, the blue silk sash of the French Ordre du Saint-Esprit and the golden fleece of the Spanish Orden del Toisón de Oro, adorn his chest.

In his right hand the monarch holds a staff of command, while his extended left hand gestures towards a distant cavalry battle visible in the background. The whole scene seems to be set in a battlefield, the King himself in the proximity of a grand military tent. Philip’s head is turned to engage the viewer with a steady, regal gaze, while the overall composition projects an aura of martial authority.

Show moreless

Provenance

Van Tilt Collection, Brussels;
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, sale, 29 April 1935, lot 109 (as “Hyacinthe Rigaud”); Private collection;
Anonymous sale, Paul Martin, Versailles, 21 November 1971, lot 34 (as “Attribué à Giuseppe Maria Crespi”);
French private collection.