A full-body portrait painted by Spanish artist Diego Velázquez of Spain's Queen Isabel de Borbón, wife of King Philip IV, is expected to enter the open market in an "Old Masters" Sotheby's auction in New York this coming February.
Estimated around $35 Million, the painting is projected to be double the current record sale for a Velázquez piece called "Saint Ruffina" which sold at an already staggering $16.9 Million in a Sotheby's London auction back in 2007.
In the meantime, the painting will be showcased at Sotheby's New Bond Street galleries in London until December 6, the first time it has been publicly displayed in the United Kingdom for over 50 years.
About the 'Isabel de Borbón, Queen of Spain'
The 1600s Queen of Spain also possessed several variations to her name, like Elisabeth of France and Isabella of Bourbon, and was the daughter of France's Monarch at the time, King Henry IV.
According to a statement by George Wachter, Sotheby's Chairman and Co-Worldwide Head of Old Master Paintings, this particular Velázquez painting is "remarkable not just for its beauty and quality, but also for its scale and subject matter."
Standing at 2 meters tall, the royal portrait depicts Borbón in her 20s adorned by a regal black court dress while holding an ashen-hued fan in her left hand and with her right resting atop a wooden chair. During this portraiture, the Queen was considered at the peak of her political strength, renowned for her wit, intelligence, and generosity.
History of the Velázquez Portrait
The portrait itself was initially started in the 1620s, however, Velázquez only returned to the painting in 1631 due to meeting the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens who pushed the Spanish artist to hone his craft under the Italian masters' guidance. With a keen eye, a shift in the outline of the skirt can be seen, which was most likely done by Velázquez after wanting to update the clothing of the Queen.
After it was finished, King Philip IV ordered it to be hung at the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid, where it stayed for many years. Later on, the painting was taken to France after Napoleon had invaded Spain in 1808 where it was displayed at the Louvre, which was established during that same year.
Then, it was hung in the Galerie Espagnole, or Spanish Gallery, under the rule of Louis Philippe, the last king of France that preceded Napoleon. The painting was then sold to the renowned collector Henry Hyuth who then brought it to his estate in Wykehurst Park in England. Hyuth's family sold the painting in 1950 and eventually wandered into its current owners' collection in 1978.
