Philip IV of Spain, 1656. By Diego Velazquez

 

The Artist

 

Velazquez was born in 1599 in Seville, which, at the time, had a thriving artistic community. At the age of 11, Diego was apprenticed but soon surpassed his master despite him being Seville's most significant artist. He soon took on the techniques of artists like Caravaggio, famous for his dark, dramatically lit works. In 1623, due to his father-in-law's connections, Velazquez was asked to paint a portrait of young King Philip IV. The King was so delighted with the result that he immediately appointed Diego as one of his court painters and from then on would allow noone else to paint him. 

 

Makeup

 

The painting is oil on canvas, hence some of the cracks that can be seen around the face and jawline. As they can only be seen in the lighter areas of the painting, (i.e. not in the background, clothes or hair) I shall experiment with makeup to try and recreate this effect. Philip's reign saw Spain's decline in power, which might be why he looks so folorn and miserable, compared to portraits of other monarchs, like Henry VIII who typically looks so powerful and masterful. I think his brow area is one of the main contributers to his sad expression. I can't distinguish any brows or brow hairs of any kind, but I think its the shadows underneath the brow bones that give them their outline. I think 2 flatpieces for the browns will work best for this. His nose also has a slight hump in the middle which could be done with another prosthetic sculpted after life casting my model. I think the eyebags could be re-created with makeup alone, as well as the nasolabial folds. As he has such a long face and receding hairline, I will use a bald cap and a wig to lengthen and age the face as much as possible. I will try and style the hair to be very limp to look like old, thin hair with slight curl at the bottom. The postiche moustache will require a lot of styling product but I think that will be fine. The area that concerns me more is the chin. I'm assuming that at the bottom of the chin is a very fine goatee, as the shapes aren't anatomically correct for it to be a double chin or jowliness, so I will also be making a subtle goatee. 

 

Costume

 

I think the outfit will be relatively easy to recreate. He is wearing the badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece on a gold chain, but the badge cannot be seen in the painting. I will find some kind of black sheet and sew the gold buttons down the front and add a gold chain. I am fairly confident I will be able to either make or but the stiff white ruff collar. The background is also obviously very simple and i'm sure will only require a black screen. I trust my photographer will be able to sort out the lighting to create the correct shadowing on the side of his face.