In the fifth edition of the Visiting Artwork initiative, the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum welcomes the painting King Philip IV of Spain, by Diego Velázquez, which belongs to The Frick Collection, in New York.

In this portrait, Philip IV is depicted in military garb, in commemoration of the reconquest of the city of Lleida. This is one of the best representations of the close relationship forged between Philip IV and Velázquez. The collector Henry Clay Frick is known to have had a particular liking for this painting, which joined his collection in 1911.

Available in Portuguese and English, the publication includes introductory texts by representatives from both institutions: Guilherme d’Oliveira Martins, trustee of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation; Ian Wardropper, director of The Frick Collection; António Filipe Pimentel, director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum; and Xavier F. Salomon, deputy director of The Frick Collection. The publication continues with an essay by researcher Vera Mariz on Calouste Gulbenkian’s admiration for the work of Diego Velázquez. Finally, Pablo Pérez d’Ors presents a reading of the painting King Philip IV of Spain in the light of the social and political context in which it was created and the place this work of art occupies in Diego Velázquez’s oeuvre.