Maricel Museum

Isabella II of Spain

Portrait of Isabella II, Queen of Spain, Federico de Madrazo Kuntz, c. 1854-1855, pencil on paper. Maricel Museum.

 

Portrait of Isabella II, Queen of Spain, Federico de Madrazo Kuntz, c. 1854-1855, pencil on paper. Maricel Museum.

 

Portrait from below the waist upwards and almost in profile of Queen Isabella de Borbón. The portrait shows her face turned three quarters to the left, looking at the observer, with her hair gathered back and covered with a hairpiece.

This portrait of the queen is another example in the technical drawing skills of Federico de Madrazo Kuntz (Rome, 1815 - Madrid, 1894). The study of the figure, which captures the psychology of the queen, is a characteristic of this painter.

The queen did not like to pose. Madrazo wrote in his diaries about the hours he wasted waiting to be received by Her Majesty. There are twenty-eight known official portraits of the queen and twelve unofficial ones.

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