Queen Elizabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain (1692-1766)
after Louis Michel van Loo (Toulon 1707 - Paris 1771)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1770 - 1799
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
749 x 622 mm (29 1/2 24 1/2 in)
Place of origin
France
Order this imageCollection
Ickworth, Suffolk
NT 851835
Caption
The sitter, who is shown as a widow, was the daughter of Odardo Farnese, Duke of Parma, and Dorothea Sophia of Bavaria. She married Philip V of Spain, as his second wife, in 1714, and produced Charles III as his heir. The original of this picture, which is evidently French, must presumably have been painted by Louis-Michel Van Loo, who was nominated First Painter to the King on the succession of Ferdinand VI. He remained so until he returned to France in 1752, when he was replaced by the Italian, Corrado Giaquinto in 1735. This appears to be an adaptation, using the same physiognomy, of a three-quarter-length seated portrait of her when she was still Queen. Presumably the presence of this picture at Ickworth is owed to the 2nd Lord Bristol’s embassy in Spain from 1758-61.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Queen Elizabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain (1692-1766), after Louis Michel van Loo (Toulon 1707 - Paris 1771), late 18th century. A half-length portrait, facing, gazing slightly to the right, as an elderly woman and widow; she wears an ermine-lined cloak embroidered with the emblems of Spain, a black veil over her head and shoulders. Elizabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain (1692-1766), daughter of Odardo Farnese, Duke of Parma and Dorothea Sophia of Bavaria; born 25 October 1692 married Philip V of Spain as his second wife on 24 December 1714; mother of Charles III of Spain, the Duke of Parma and other children. Called after 1746 the Queen Mother when she was widowed. She died on 11 July 1766. She was commonly known as the termagant of Spain.
Provenance
Presumably the presence of this picture at Ickworth is owed to the 2nd Lord Bristol's embassy in Spain from 1758-61; by descent to Rear Admiral Frederick William Fane Hervey, 4th Marquess of Bristol (1863-1951), on whose death valued for probate; accepted in lieu of tax by HM Treasury, and transferred to the National Trust in 1956
Credit line
Ickworth, The Bristol Collection (acquired through the National Land Fund and transferred to The National Trust in 1956)
Makers and roles
after Louis Michel van Loo (Toulon 1707 - Paris 1771) , artist
References
Farrer 1908 Edmund Farrer, Portraits in Suffolk Houses (West), 1908, no. 170