Portret van Filips II van Spanje 1816 - 1831

Editor: We're looking at "Portrait of Philip II of Spain," a drawing, or rather an engraving on paper, created sometime between 1816 and 1831 by Alphonse Boilly. It gives me a somber feeling, almost... austere. What's your take? Curator: Austere, yes, but with a kind of regal melancholia that clings to it, don't you think? It’s history captured in lines. I see echoes of power, but also of immense responsibility. An engraver's attempt to render a historical figure, yes, but also to probe a personality long after that personality faded from existence, much like the feathered adornment that hints at a grand image of an authoritative figure. How does that resonate with you? Editor: That resonates, but what I’m trying to get my head around is, like, why him? Philip II. Was Boilly drawn to something specific in his story? Curator: Perhaps the enigma. The man who commanded an empire that spanned continents, yet whose inner world remained a fortress. An artist can find endless inspiration in such complexity. Also, portraiture then had to do with status, it was made to represent the high spheres of society. Doesn’t the composition almost echo that isolation with its enclosed oval? Editor: You're right, it's like a window into his world, but also a barrier. He is separated from us by the border! Thinking about it like that kind of helps connect the visual aspects to, you know, the historical context. Curator: Exactly! It's like feeling history instead of just knowing it. That man commanded from the distance of his chambers, an empire "over which the sun never set", like an island that can never be abandoned. Perhaps it wasn't so easy being Phillip II of Spain. Editor: I never thought of it that way. Thanks, I will have a lot to meditate about.