Equestrian Portrait of Philip V, King of Spain

1702-1705

Lorenzo Vaccaro

The vocabulary adopted to glorify the monarch in Europe drew both on sumptuous realism and on allegorical imagery. The equestrian portrait of Philip V of Spain, grandson of Louis XIV, was produced by the Italian sculptor Lorenzo Vaccaro (1655–1706) for the city of Naples, of which Philip was also king. It shows the sovereign on his horse in a costume inspired by ancient Rome but wearing a heavy, leonine wig characteristic of the French court. His facial features are carefully captured in this magnificently worked bronze.

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