Portrait of Charles III, half length within a roundel
ca. 1765–70
Medium
Engraving; proof before letters
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 1/16 × 5 1/16 in. (18 × 12.8 cm) Plate: 4 5/16 × 3 1/16 in. (11 × 7.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Anonymous Gift, 1924
Accession Number
24.80.14
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant engraving by Manuel Salvador Carmona presents a half-length portrait of Charles III, King of Spain, framed within a delicate roundel. Created around 1765–70 as a proof before letters—an early impression without added text—the work captures the monarch with refined precision. Carmona, a leading Spanish printmaker of the period, employed meticulous line work to convey both regal dignity and approachable humanity, typical of court portraiture intended for wider circulation. The choice of engraving as a medium was significant in the eighteenth century, allowing royal images to reach ...