ESCUELA ESPAÑOLA, POSIBLEMENTE SEVILLANA

(S.XVII)

SPANISH SCHOOL, POSSIBLY SEVILLE (17TH CENTURY) "Portrait of the Duke of Medinaceli"

Oil on canvas. Provenance: - Madrid, Marqués de Casa-Torres Collection, no. 12151. Bibliography: - “Photographic references to works of art in Spain. Painting II. Marqués de Casa-Torres Collection”, J. Lacoste photographer editor, Madrid, 1914 (like Murillo), pl. 32. - “Data and news relating to some paintings in the collection of the Marqués de Casa-Torres”, Hauser y Menet, Madrid, 1922 (like Murillo), p. 22. We do not know the remote provenance of this interesting painting, which belonged to the collection of the Marqués de Casa Torres. In the old records that were made of the aforementioned noble collection, the work was considered to be an original by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo and, photographed by Lacoste, it was inventoried with the number 12151 as a portrait of the Duke of Medinaceli. We assume that, given the dates in which the painting was executed, the person represented must have been Antonio Juan Luis de la Cerda y Enríquez, 7th Duke of Medinaceli (Madrid, 1607- Cádiz, 1671), because his physiognomic characteristics do not correspond to those of his successor: Juan Francisco de la Cerda y Enríquez de Ribera, of whom some portraits are known. We imagine that those in charge of writing the inventory handled some type of documentation or took into account some data that allowed them to identify the character. The supposed person portrayed on the canvas, Antonio Juan Luis de la Cerda y Enríquez, appears characterized with long hair, a moustache and a beard, looking directly at the spectator. He holds a sword in his right hand and carries the baton of command in his left. He is dressed in the style of the Spanish court of Philip III, with formal armour and a crimson band, a hat with white feathers, a small puffed collar, slashed leggings, stockings and fine leather boots. He is seated in a military campaign chair, surrounded by curtains that give it the appearance of a throne. In the background, there are two figures carrying a tray with keys. The formal characteristics of this painting allow it to be directly related to a series of models by Zurbarán and his workshop that represent Saint Ferdinand. Examples include the one in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg or the main altarpiece in the Seville church of Saint Stephen. Its seated position brings it closer to a canvas that appeared in the market (Sotheby's, July 3, 1946) and, especially, to a painting, almost a "twin", preserved in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts of Seville that, coming from the convent of San Alberto, was attributed to Zurbarán (Inv. No. 279) and repeats the same model, also sharing the measurements.These details lead us to think that the person represented here could be Saint Ferdinand and not the Duke of Medinaceli; although there is also the possibility that it could be a portrait of the duke “in the divine style”, characterised with the attributes of the saint of the Castilian royal house, from which the Medinaceli, precisely, descended. In this sense, it must be taken into account that, if it were a Saint Ferdinand, it would be devoid of some symbols that usually accompany him in his representations, such as the royal crown and the terrestrial globe. The characters who offer him the keys on a tray could allude to the delivery of the keys to the city of Seville or be a nod to the distinction of the VII Duke of Medinaceli as Gentleman of the Chamber. Measurements: 207 x 140 cm.