3-097-963 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Charles V and Philip II, 1639. This joint portrait of two sovereigns presents a typology rarely found in the Hispanic portrait tradition. Its unusual arrangement reflects the symbolism of the space for which it was commissioned: the Golden Hall of the Alcázar of Madrid. Arias painted four canvases for this series. The paintings were to be placed high on the walls, about eight meters up, and had to include paired seated portraits. This explains the placement of the figures, as if looking out from a gallery, and the viewpoint for which they were intended. Charles V is clothed in a mantle and has the imperial crown behind him, while his son Philip carries a torch and rests his hand on an orb, a symbol of the global reach of his possessions.