A narrative on fashion-image in Felipe the second: a beautiful gesture of royal majesty

Abstract

The article presents a study of a specific case about the creation of a historical narrative, and the symbolic elements inherent to that narrative. The case is referred to the royal portraits of Felipe II based on two models: Titian's from 1549 and Lucas de Heere from 1553. The introduction takes up the concept of dressing in the Spanish style as a general context of clothing and the institutional narrative of the monarchy that was intended to be transmitted; next, the fashion image created to convey a beautiful gesture of royal majesty is studied. Its background is described by the royal’s portrait of Charles the Fifth and its context about the Trento’s Council are expounded, the creation of an iconic image from the Council ideas, as well as the dissemination of this style created from the political predominancy of the Spanish monarchy. Then the style and details of this clothing and the variations that can be seen in the portrait of Heere, both physiognomic and clothing aspects, are described in order to explain the multiplicity of different portraits been produced. The methodology will be the graphic comparison of portraits of Philip II made in the 1550s (Tiziano’s studio and Heere), which brings information on the generation and dating of families of portraits as well as the incorporation of basic references for the understanding of the historical moment and its relationship with the monarchical narrative.