“Portrait of Philip III” by Velázquez on view for the 1st time at Prado

PanARMENIAN.Net - Portrait of Philip III by Velázquez was discovered and donated last year by William B. Jordan to American Friends of the Prado Museum, which has deposited it with the Museum. It is now on display in Room 24 of the Villanueva Building, Art Daily said.

This donation and long-term deposit at the Prado will assist in completing the Museum’s presentation of Velázquez as a court portraitist given that this is a painting previously unknown to scholars which casts new light on one of the key works painted by the artist during his early years at court: The Expulsion of the Moriscos.

For this first public presentation of the new deposit, the Museum has decided to display it in one of its most emblematic spaces, at the heart of the permanent collection and next to Philip II offering the Infante don Fernando to Victory by Titian, which has very recently been restored.

Also on temporary display here are Philip III by Pedro Vidal and Philip IV in Armour and The Infante don Carlos, both by Velazquez. Together they create a context for an understanding of the portrait of Philip III and for the reasons behind its attribution to Velázquez.

With the aim of providing more information on the painting and its present display, William B. Jordan, who both discovered and donated it to the Museum, will be giving a lecture in the Museum’s Auditorium next Wednesday, June 14 at 6.30pm.