_Prado Gallery, Madrid_]
The skill with which the splendid costume is painted would alone make
the picture a great work of art. Philip wears a breastplate and hip
pieces of armor, richly inlaid with gold, slashed embroidered hose, as
the short trousers are called, white silk tights and white slippers. The
collar of the Golden Fleece is the crowning ornament.
The attitude of the prince is full of dignity. He stands in front of a
table on which his helmet and gauntlets are laid. The right hand rests
on the helmet, and the left holds the hilt of the rapier which hangs at
his side.
The most remarkable quality in the portrait is the impression of royalty
it conveys. Though Philip has little to boast of in good looks, he has
inherited from generations of royal ancestors that indefinable air of
distinction which belongs to his station. It is this which the painter
has expressed in his attitude and bearing.
Young as the face is, with little of life's experience to give it
individuality, the painter makes it a revelation of the leading elements
in Philip's character. The seriousness of the boy has developed into the
habitual gravity of the man. Already we see how well the father's
lessons have been learned, how self-contained and cautious the prince
has become. The affairs of state seem to weigh heavily upon him.
The proportions of the figure to the size and shape of the canvas add
something to the apparent height of Philip. Titian has done everything a
painter could do to give an ill-favored prince an appearance befitting
his royal prestige: it is a kingly portrait.
Three years after it was painted, the picture was sent to England to be
shown to Queen Mary. Philip, now a widower, had become a suitor of the
English queen. The report came that Mary was "greatly enamoured" of the
portrait, and the marriage was soon after effected. Philip, however, did
not win great favor with the English, and after Mary's death he chose a
French princess for his next wife, and spent his life in Spain.
Upon the abdication of his father, he became the most powerful monarch
in Europe, and had the best armies of his time. He was constantly at war
with other nations, usually two or more at a time, and by undertaking
too many schemes often failed. It was during his reign that the
Netherlands were lost to Spain, and the famous Spanish Armada was
destroyed by the English.