Attributed to Juan Ribalta

Portrait of King Ferdinand the Catholic (1620)

Estudi General, University of Valencia, Spain

Bartolomeo Campi (Italian, died 1573)

Roman-Style Armor Given to Philip II of Spain (Pesaro, 1546)

[Embossed and gold- and silver-damascened steel; brass and fabric]

Patrimonio Nacional, Real Armería, Madrid, Spain

Roman-style armor recalled the leather cuirasses of antiquity, which imitated a warrior’s muscled chest. Although such armor is often depicted in Renaissance tapestries and paintings, this suit is the only complete surviving Roman-style armor in the world. Presented as a gift to King Philip II of Spain, it served as the model for the armor worn by the fallen figure of Sisera in the painting by Pedro Núñez del Valle, Spanish Baroque artist.

Rodrigo de Villandrando

The Prince Philip, later Philip IV of Spain, with the court dwarf Soplillo

ca. 1620 - Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain

After Pedro Antonio Vidal

King Philip III of Spain (c.1617)

Miguel de Cervantes House Museum, Valladolid, Spain

Pedro Antonio Vidal

King Philip III of Spain (1617)

Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain

Bartolomé González y Serrano

King Philip III of Spain (c.1615)

Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain

The Armor of Philip III

Photography by Charles Clifford, 1866

It was a gift from the city of Pamplona to Philip III (1578-1621), King of Spain and Portugal from 1598 until his death. Although we do not yet know for what purpose Clifford documented the highlights in the collection of the Armería Real (the Royal Armory in Madrid), it is clear that the heavy cavalry armor, with its marvelous bands of decoration encrusted with gold and silver, is a sight to behold. If the helmet looks peculiar it is because part of the gated inner visor is not fully lowered. (via metmuseum)

Juan Pantoja de la Cruz

King Philip III of Spain (1606)

Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain

Juan Pantoja de la Cruz

King Philip III of Spain (1601-1602)

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna