Thread by @e_b_wood

Happy 492nd birthday to my main man, Philip II. 🎉

(Prepare yourselves for a *long* thread, all...)

Leone Leoni, medal of Philip II & Hercules, Virtue, & Pleasure, 1548-49, @gardnermuseum. #Habsburgs4life #earlymoderntwitter #earlymodernart #numismatics4life #numismatics

Portraits & copies of portraits & multiples of portraits, all of Philip II.
Get excited.

After a lost 1549 original by Titian: studio of Titian, 1549-50, @museodelprado & unrecorded artist, ca. 1560-1699 (a real specific period for that one), @RCT. #earlymodernart #portraiture

Portraits of Philip II were made by some of the best of the best of the 16th century.

Like this full-length portrait in armor by Titian (1551) in the @museodelprado. #earlymodernart #portraiture #legsfordays

I mean, come on. The artists that made Philip II's portraits were just so good.

Leone *and* Pompeo Leoni got involved in this one, the former in Milan, the latter in Madrid (1551-1568, @museodelprado). #earlymodernart #portraiture #legsfordays

When you have Titian, Leone Leoni, & Antonis Mor setting the bar for your portraits...

Antonis Mor (aka Antonio Moro), ca. 1549-1550, @museobilbao; & a copy after Mor, 1554-1558, @RCT. #earlymodernart #portraiture #philipii #felipeii

...I mean, it's just not fair to the other monarchs, is it?

Titian, 1553-54, @Capodimonte_mus. #earlymodernart #portraiture #legsfordays #philipii #felipeii

Philip II and the Spanish court learned very quickly that great exemplars lead to great copies, even when miniaturized.

unrecorded artist after Titian, 1555 (3 3/8 x 2 1/2 inches), @NPGLondon. #earlymodernart #portraiture #miniature #felipeii

Okay. So not *all* the portraits of Philip II are great...

unrecorded artist, 1550s?, Castello Odescalchi di Bracciano. #earlymodernart #portraiture #felipeii

...but the ones that are, are. And a whole bunch of them are.

Antonis Mor, 1555-58, @museodelprado. #earlymodernart #portraiture #philipii #felipeii #gimmemor (#sorrynotsorry)

Another bust-length portrait of Philip II from that period, for good measure.

attr. Lucas de Heere, mid-16th century, @museodelprado. #earlymodernart #portraiture #felipeii

He had some pretty great medallists working for him, too.

Giampaolo Poggini, medal of Philip II and Hercules, 1557, sold at auction on 1 February 2018 (for 26,000€!!!) (Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, auction 302, lot 1460) #earlymodernart #philipii #felipeii #numismatics

Winning the Battle of St. Quentin in 1557 was a *big deal* for Philip II.

1 portrait type, 3 versions: Antonis Mor, 1560, @realessitios (in the Escorial); workshop of Mor, ca. 1560, sold at @Sothebys, 30 Jan. 2019; Alonso Sánchez Coello, 1566, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

The image of Philip II in his St. Quentin armor was an enduring one. (Note: he didn't actually fight in the battle...)

Here's a later portrait, based off of Mor's depiction, by an unrecorded artist (first half of the 17th century, @museodelprado) #earlymodernart #portraiture

And he had medals made to commemorate the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, marking the end of the war with France in 1559, two years after St. Quentin.

Giampaolo Poggini, medal of Philip II and Peace at the Temple of Janus, 1559, @britishmuseum. #earlymodernart #numismatics #felipeii

Philip II also liked people to know that he was king of Spain *and* the "New World in the West" (as seen in the inscription on the previous medal).

Giampaolo Poggini, medal of Philip II and an allegory of the Indies, 1560, @MANArqueologico. #earlymodernart #numismatics #felipeii

He was really into the whole "I'm the king of the world!" thing, actually.

Jacapo da Trezzo, medal of Philip II and hands tying the globe to a yoke, ca. 1577, @museodelprado. #earlymodernart #numismatics #titanicreference (#sorrynotsorry)

Philip II was also really into the Order of the Golden Fleece, though wasn't depicted in full regalia very often (usually he's just wearing the insignia).

unrecorded artist, 16th century, @museodelprado. #earlymodernart #portraiture #felipeii #seeingred #redhot (#maybenot)

Probably the best-known Philip II, by Sofonisba Anguissola (1565, reworked in 1573, @museodelprado), & a version of her composition by Alonso Sánchez Coello (ca. 1568, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). #earlymodernart #portraiture #felipeii #imitationisthehighestformofflattery

This portrait type, of Philip II in black, joined the type of Philip II in armor as one of the most popular types being produced by the Spanish court painters.

unrecorded artist, ca. 1570s, @RCT & Alonso Sánchez Coello, ca. 1570, @GlasgowMuseums. #earlymodernart #portraiture

But the court painters didn't forget about Philip II's #legsfordays either.

unrecorded artist, ca. 1580, @NPGLondon & attr. Juan Pantoja de La Cruz, ca. 1598, @realessitios, Real Biblioteca de El Escorial. #earlymodernart #portraiture #felipeii

(I should also note that I'm not a print person and so am completely ignoring prints in this thread. I'm also leaving out coins. Otherwise it would have been about twice as long...)

Anyway, there are sooooo many portraits of Philip II, I obviously can't include 'em all here. But hopefully you get the general idea.

Alonso Sánchez Coello, 1582, Palazzo Pitti, @UffiziGalleries. #earlymodernart #portraiture #legsfordays

A very happy birthday, Philip II! #Habsburgs4life #FelipeII