Resumen de New information on Velázquez's portrait of Philip IV at Fraga in The Frick Collection, New York
Pablo Pérez D'Ors, Michael Gallagher
The writer discusses the unusual iconography and function of King Philip IV of Spain, a portrait by Velázquez in relation to a hitherto overlooked contemporary sermon, on the occasion of “The King at War: Velázquez's Portrait of Philip IV,” an exhibition at The Frick Collection in New York from October 26, 2010, to January 23, 2011. A sermon delivered by Fray Joseph Laynez, one of the king's preachers, and printed shortly after a religious festival organized by the Catalans in Madrid to celebrate Philip IV's entry into Lérida, included direct references to the Velázquez portrait that would have guided the viewers' interpretation and encouraged their response. The premise of the sermon was that it was divine favor, rather than the achievements of the King or his army, that led to the victory at Lérida. The portrait's mood is far from triumphal or heroic. Instead, as the sermon made clear, Philip is depicted as a forgiving father-figure, rather than a conquering Mars.
