Core Record |
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| Title | Spanish Girl | |
| Alternative Title | Court Portrait; Princess Catalina Micaela, Daughter of Philip II of Spain | |
| Collection | Lancaster City Museum | |
| Artist | Attributed to Pantoja de la Cruz, Juan (Spanish painter, 1554-1608) Previously attributed to Sánchez Coello, Alonso (Spanish painter, ca.1531-1588) |
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| Date | 1579 (dated) | |
| Description | Pantoja de la Cruz was the court painter of Philip III of Spain. He painted individual portraits of many members of the Spanish court. The inscription states that the subject was only 12 years old although, as was common with children's portaits at this time, her formal dress makes her appear much older. An apparent date of 1539 was shown by ultra-violet examination to obscure a later date of 1579. This change is thought to have been an attempt to pass the work off as that of Alonso Sanchez Coello, of whom Cruz had been a pupil. The costume also suggests a date around 1570 or later. This later date now means that the sitter can be identified as Princess Catalina Micaela, daughter of Philip II who was 12 in 1579. | |
| Current Accession Number | LMA 37 | |
| Inscription | front uc 'AETATIS SUAE 12 ANNO DNI. 1579' | |
| Subject | portrait (Hapsburg, Princess Catalina Micaela [?]) | |
| Measurements | 170.5 x 100 cm.0 cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on canvas | |
| Acquisition Details | Transferred from the Storey Institute 1976. | |
| Notes | Iniitial research into the inconsistency of the date and the dress (which suggests a date of 1570 at the earliest) was prompted by Martin S. Soria of Michigan State College, East Lansing, in 1955, after a visit to Lancaster. Information in G. Kubler and M. Soria, Art and Architecture in Spain and Portugal, 1959, p. 207: 'Documents have been published for 66 portraits, depicting 39 members of the royal family, their ancestors and relatives between 1600 and 1607 by Pantoja. After a fire at the Pardo Palace in 1604 destroyed or damaged many of the 47 portraits by Titian, Mor, Sanchez Coello, Lucas van Heere and Sofonisbe Anguissola, the king ordered Pantoja to restore many and to paint 35 new portraits. Some of which may still be incorrectly attributed to Sanchez Coello.' It can be very difficult to separate the two artist's work because Pantoja studied so closely under Sanchez Coello, probably collaborating on many of his master's mature works. After the death of Sanchez Coello, Pantoja became an independent painter. 'Documentation exists from 1590 concerning portraits by Pantoja of members of the royal family including one of Don Felipe, the future Philip III (1593; Vienna, Ksthist. Mus.).' This work dated 1579 is therefore a very early example of Pantoja's independent painting for the royal court. 'On Philip's accession to the throne in 1598 Pantoja painted another portrait of him (Vienna, Ksthist. Mus.) and became the official portrait painter for the court and for the nobility of Madrid; there is detailed documentation for his work from this time. He painted clothing and jewels with precision, in minute detail and with a dry objectivity in the Flemish tradition. His treatment of faces however, clearly reveals his study of Venetian portraiture, and in particular that of Titian.' Alfonso E. Perez Sanchez, 'Pantoja de la Cruz, Juan', Grove Art Online, Oxford University Press, 23 March 2006, http://www.groveart.com/. | |
| Rights Owner | Lancaster City Museum | |
| Author | Lisa Howard | |