Don John of Austria
Alonso Sánchez Coello, 1560
This full-length portrait shows Don John of Austria, the illegitimate son of King Charles I of Spain and Barbara Blomberg, who was acknowledged by his half-brother Philip II in 1559 and from then on was treated as an infante of Castile. The work is attributed to Alonso Sánchez Coello, probably around 1560, when the painter was in the service of Joanna of Austria, with the aim of presenting the boy to the court at about twelve years old. It is considered the only surviving full-length portrait of the sitter, which gives it particular interest. He wears a red velvet courtly costume embroidered with gold and silver purl; the researcher María Kusche suggested it may be the outfit he wore at the oath of allegiance to Prince Charles in Toledo. The composition owes much to the portraits of Antonio Moro, Sánchez Coello's teacher, and to Titian's approach to full-length figures. The black background isolates the figure and draws attention to the steady, piercing gaze and the careful rendering of the garments. One hand holds a glove and rests on a sword, while the other rests on the hip, giving the pose its firmness.
- Painter
- Alonso Sánchez Coello
- Date
- 1560
- Medium
- oil paint, canvas
- Museum
- Museo Soumaya, Mexico City
- Genre
- portrait
- Depicts
- John of Austria
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