157 - Frans POURBUS the Younger (Antwerp 1569–1622 Paris), workshop of

Frans POURBUS the Younger (Antwerp 1569–1622 Paris), workshop of Portrait of the Infanta of Spain, Isabelle Claire Eugénie (1566–1633) Oil on parquet-style oak panel H: 105.5 cm; W: 77 cm. Restorations Provenance: -Private French collection Bibliography: -Blaise Ducos, Frans Pourbus the Younger (1569–1622). The Ceremonial Portrait at the Dawn of the Grand Siècle, Between the Habsburgs, the Medici, and the Bourbons, Dijon, Éditions Faton, 2011, p. 399 Related Works: -Frans Pourbus the Younger, Portrait of Isabelle-Claire-Eugénie, c. 1599–1600, Royal Collection, United Kingdom. -Workshop of Frans Pourbus the Younger, Portrait of Claire-Eugénie, c. 1600, oil on copper, 28.5 × 22.5 cm, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. SK-A-510. -Workshop of or after Frans Pourbus the Younger, Portrait of Isabelle-Claire-Eugénie, c. 1600–1615, oil on wood, 42.6 × 33.6 cm, Tallinn, Estonian Art Museum, inv. VM 3. Frans Pourbus the Younger ranks among the most important court portraitists of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Born into a family of prominent Antwerp painters, he trained under his grandfather Pieter Pourbus and his father Frans Pourbus the Elder. He went on to have a prestigious career in the service of the Habsburgs, the Gonzagas, and later the Bourbons. Active in Antwerp and then in Brussels in the service of Archduke Albert and Infanta Isabella-Claire-Eugénie, he moved to the court of Mantua before settling in France in 1609, where he became one of the leading portraitists of Marie de’ Medici and the royal family. Our painting depicts the Infanta Isabella-Claire-Eugenie of Austria (1566–1633), daughter of Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth of Valois. In 1599, she married her cousin, Archduke Albert of Austria, with whom she ruled the Southern Netherlands. Prior to this marriage, the Infanta played a significant role in her father’s ambitions. Indeed, in 1593, Philip II supported her claim to the French throne by asserting the rights she derived from her mother, the daughter of Henry II. The circulation of her portrait thus held particular political significance and made this painting a tool of propaganda for the Spanish monarchy. Our portrait features a particularly interesting composition compared to other known depictions of the Infanta by Pourbus and his workshop. The richness of the costume and the meticulous rendering of the ornaments attest to the importance attached to the work. The shoulder shape characteristic of the period, as well as the fact that it was painted on panel, suggest a date in the late 16th century, perhaps around 1593–1594, when Pourbus was still active in the Antwerp art scene. Painted on an oak panel, our portrait was initially conceived to depict only the model’s ruff and face before being enlarged later, likely within the workshop. The final painting is on a three-plank oak panel, consistent with the Antwerp panel-painting tradition of the late 16th century. Furthermore, it is one of the few versions of the Infanta by Pourbus’s workshop to be executed on panel, which further supports its dating. The quality of execution in our painting—particularly in the rendering of the skin tones, executed with great finesse—further confirms that this is a collaborative work by the studio, possibly with the master’s involvement.