Attr. Sebastian de Herrera Barnuevo (17th C.)

Important Life Sized Portrait of Carlos II (King Charles II) Attributed to Sebastian de Herrera Barnuevo (Spain, 1619 – 1671). Provenance: Sotheby’s Old Master Paintings Sale (June 5, 2014. Lot 74- Estimate: $50,000-$70,000) Oil on Canvas. Sebastian de Herrera Barnuevo was a painter, draughtsman, sculptor and architect. He studied with Alonso Cano and was probably his chief assistant in Madrid during the 1640s. In 1662, he was appointed First Painter (pintor de camera) of Carlos II, a position which he held until his death. This portrait is similar in type to two other full-length portraits of Carlos as a young boy of circa 1670, one in the collection of the Hermitage Museum and the other in Fundacion Lazaro Galdiano, Madrid. In those portraits the young king stands in the same pose with long wavy hair, looking out confidently at the viewer; the costumes are very similar, though red rather than black as in the present portrait, and he holds the hat in his left hand and a scepter in his right hand.

Sight Size: 59.5 x 35.5 in.
Overall Size: 70 x 46.5 in.