King Philip III of Spain

Artist Cornelis de Vos Flemish, 1584/1585–1651

ArtistRetouched (?) by Peter Paul Rubens Flemish, b. 1577, Siegen Westphalia; d. 1640, Antwerp

Date1635

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensionsoverall: 94 x 51 in. (238.8 x 129.5 cm)
frame: 107 x 61 1/4 in. (271.8 x 155.6 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the North Carolina State Art Society (Robert F. Phifer Bequest)

Object number52.9.109

On View

On view

Label TextThis pair of massive, imposing, and rare portraits celebrate Spanish monarchs of the seventeenth century. When the subjects ruled and when these paintings were made, Spain was one of the most powerful and wealthy monarchies in the world.

These portraits were originally part of a large outdoor arch that was meant to be temporary and was heavily decorated to celebrate a royal entry into Antwerp, now in Belgium and then part of the Spanish empire. Such decorations were a way to demonstrate unlimited and unquestioned power.
[M. Frederick, "Portraits and Power," 2022]
Note: This work was exhibited with Cornelis de Vos's King Philip IV of Spain [52.9.110].ProvenanceCommissioned by the city of Antwerp, 1634; created Antwerp, Flanders [present day Belgium], 1635; presented to Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Spain (1609–1641), Brussels. John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (1650–1722), Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, probably in 1706, definitely by 1718; by descent to John Albert Edward Spencer Churchill (1897–1972), 10th Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace; [Koetser Gallery, London and New York, 1952]; sold to NCMA, 1952.Published ReferencesW. R. Valentiner, Catalogue of Paintings: Including Three Sets of Tapestries (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1956), no. 131, illus. (b-w) as 132 (photo numbers transposed in error).

John Rupert Martin, The Decorations for the Pompa Introitus Ferdinandi (London and New York: Phaidon, 1972), 82-86, illus, fig. 30.

Michael Jaffé, Catologo Completo Rubens (Milan: Rizzoli, 1989), no. 1128, illus.

"Renovated European Galleries," in North Carolina Museum of Art supplement to the Herald-Sun (Durham, NC), October 2002, mentioned 3.

Karen C. Kelly, "Kings, Comedians, and Captains of Industry: Trails of Art Ownership," in Preview: The Magazine of the North Carolina Museum of Art (Spring 2008), briefly discussed 11.

Dennis P. Weller, Seventeenth-Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings [Systematic Catalogue of the Collection] (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 2009), cat. no. 76, illus. (color) 364.

Alexis Merle du Bourg, Jordaens: 1593–1678 (Paris: Musées, 2013), noted 196.

Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–May 29, 2024.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Seeing Red," June 15, 2024-present. Object Rights Statement

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