3-097-967 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

King Sebastian of Portugal, 1572. The adolescent King Sebastian is depicted with all of the customary conventions associated with formal portraits of the Habsburgs. These portraits are models of authority and power, which perfectly embody the identification of the subject and the representation of the monarchy as defender of Christianity. This painting's similarity to the only signed and dated portrait of King Sebastian, which is in the Monastery of the Descalzas Reales, has led it to be attributed to Cristóbal de Morales. Sebastian (1554-1578), depicted here aged 18, was King of Portugal from 1557 to 4 August 1578 when he disappeared during the Battle of Alcácer Quibir. He was last seen riding headlong into the enemy lines, and whether his body was ever found is uncertain.