Portrait of Isabella of Portugal
 | |
| Artist | Titian |
|---|---|
| Year | 1548 |
| Type | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 117 cm × 98 cm (46 in × 39 in) |
| Location | Museo del Prado, Madrid |
The Portrait of Isabella of Portugal is an oil-on-canvas portrait of Isabella of Portugal by Titian dating to 1548. It was part of the Spanish royal collection and is now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
Description
The sitter is Isabella of Portugal, wife of Charles I of Spain and daughter of King Manuel I of Portugal . The portrait is a classic scheme already used by Raphael or Leonardo da Vinci, in which the model stands sitting next to her opening a window in which one guesses landscape . The landscape gives depth to the composition, in addition to serving as color contrast with the figure of the Empress, then dominate the greenish and bluish, while the interior scene is dominated by warm colors. The figure shows some stiffness Isabel, maybe related to the concept of majesty as used in the iconography imperial. The figure wears a rich red dress and gold brocade and trimmed with rhinestones. It is decorated also with flashy jewelry, like a necklace of pearls with a clasp at the chest with gems hanging from another teardrop pearl, a ring on her right hand, or a jewel topped headdress, a hairstyle very rigid fashionable at the time made up braids. The Empress holds an open book in her left hand, perhaps a missal or prayer book, and look at a distant point with preoccupied expression.
