Phillip II, King of Spain
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/sheet, trimmed within platemark: 35.5 × 24.9 cm (14 × 9 13/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
26686
Art Historical Context
Step into the world of Renaissance portraiture with *Philip II, King of Spain a masterful 1586 engraving by artist Hieronymus Wierix Wierix, part of a renowned family of engravers active in Antwerp, specialized in intricate reproductive prints that captured the likeness of Europe's elite. This work, housed in the Art Institute of Chicago Prints and Drawings Department, depicts the formidable Spanish monarch Philip II (1527–1598), whose reign shaped global power dynamics through vast colonial empires, the Counter-Reformation, and naval ambitions like the Spanish Armada. Measuring 35.5 × 24.9 c...