Philip IV in Brown and Silver

The Portrait of Philip IV or Philip IV in Brown and Silver is a portrait of Philip IV of Spain painted by Diego Velázquez. It is popularly known as Silver Philip and is now on show in the National Gallery in London. The dating is not certain - the National Gallery website gives 1631/32, whilst Carrassat gives 1635 - but it was definitely the first portrait the artist produced after his first trip to Italy, in that it adopts the softer and more co... more

The Portrait of Philip IV or Philip IV in Brown and Silver is a portrait of Philip IV of Spain painted by Diego Velázquez. It is popularly known as Silver Philip and is now on show in the National Gallery in London. The dating is not certain - the National Gallery website gives 1631/32, whilst Carrassat gives 1635 - but it was definitely the first portrait the artist produced after his first trip to Italy, in that it adopts the softer and more colourful palette of the Venetian school. Life size, it is unlike most portraits of Philip IV, in that it does not show him in his usual wholly-black costume. Instead it shows him in a brown and silver embroidered costume (thus giving the portrait its name), painted with small rapid strokes, and the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece on a golden chain. It was on display in the Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo de El Escorial until the early 19th century, when it was stolen from there and passed into an English collection - the National... less