The Gardner portrait of Philip IV of Spain is a replica of the famous portrait in the Prado, Madrid, and is one in a series Velázquez painted of the King after the artist's appointment to the court in 1623. The Prado portrait was painted around 1628 and the Gardner replica shortly thereafter. Remarkably, the Prado picture as we see it today represents a complete reworking of the canvas covering an earlier portrait of the King painted in 1623. A copy of that first version, also by Velázquez and now in the Metropolitan Museum, shows Philip IV in a similar pose although the position of the feet is quite different and overall, his figure is stout and his cape wide in proportion. In the Gardner painting, he is slender and rendered in a more idealized form that is meant to enhance his stature as supreme ruler. Dressed in black, Philip stands in a three-quarter stance against an undefined and austere gray background. In a pose that he took during official proceedings at the court, his left hand holds the hilt of his sword and his right hand holds a partially folded note.

The painting of Philip IV of Spain by Diego Velázquez and Workshop was the focus of a major restoration campaign over the past year. The portrait, which hangs prominently and in close proximity to Titian’s Europa in the Titian Room, was last restored in 1948. Over the past sixty years, the accumulation of surface grime and the discoloration of previous restorations marred the appearance of both the painting and its magnificent frame. Along with the conservation treatment, a thorough scientific analysis was carried out on the painting to better understand the techniques employed by Velázquez and his assistants.

The conservation treatment, which resulted in a marked improvement in the appearance of the painting, centered on the removal of a darkened polyvinyl-acetate varnish coating and badly discolored restorations from the previous treatment. These degraded layers were removed from the paint surface with cotton swabs dampened with appropriate solvent mixtures. The cleaning effectively removed the restoration materials used in the 1948 restoration; however, much older tenacious restorations which could not be safely removed were left. These, along with numerous small losses and abrasions scattered over the surface of the image, were in-painted and toned to match the original paint layers. A stable and reversible synthetic varnish was applied to the paint surface to re-saturate the image.

The frame, which is one of a suite of similar frames now in the Spanish Room of the Kingston Lacy house, was previously restored; however, it was not re-gilded so the objective of the treatment was to clean and conserve the original gilt surface. In a prior treatment, most of the frame surface had been coated with a thick layer of wax that become dark and dull over time. In addition, areas of loss of gilding had been coated. A laser cleaner was used to soften the wax coatings which were then removed mechanically. Areas of loose or unstable gilding and gesso were consolidated with a stable synthetic resin, and losses were filled and in-painted to resemble the gilt surface.

Technical analysis of the painting, including x-radiography, infrared imaging, and cross-sectional analysis to identify pigments and media, revealed a number of features characteristic to Velázquez and his workshop. The most significant finding is the presence of a red earth ground layer applied to the canvas prior to the execution of portrait. Between 1624 and the late 1620s, Velázquez exclusively used a preparatory red ground layer (the artist reverted to using a gray ground after this period). Cross-sectional analysis revealed that in appearance and composition the ground layer of the Gardner Museum’s Philip IV matches the ground layers of paintings from this period. Although not meant to be readily visible, this layer nonetheless has a considerable visual impact on the image, especially in the red tablecloth, where it shows through the transparent paint layers, and along the contours of the figure—where the hands and white cuff meet, for example. In a more subtle way, the red ground layer imparts an overall warm tonality to the portrait.

Philip IV of Spain was originally in the possession of the Marquis de Leganes, a cousin of the Duke of Olivares, the powerful prime minister at the Spanish court during Philip IV’s reign. By 1827 it came into the Bankes collection at Kingston Lacy, Dorset. Through arrangements made by Bernard Berenson, the painting was acquired by Isabella Gardner from Colnaghi and Co., London in 1896.