Follower of Alonso Sánchez Coello Benifairó del Valls, Valencia 1531/2 - 1588 Madrid

This portrait depicts the family of Carlo Emanuele, Duke of Savoy (1562 - 1630) and his wife Doña Micaela, Infanta of Spain, Archduchess of Austria (1567 - 1597), who he married in 1585, with their four children. The two eldest sons, Filippo Emanuele and Vittorio Amedeo, appear to be depicted at around the ages of six and seven respectively (indicating a likely dating to around 1593) however the inclusion of the Duke's Collar of the Order of Saint Maurice and Saint Lazarus, founded in 1600, suggests that the portrait dates to 1600 or shortly after.

Carlo Emanuele and Doña Micaela were portrayed by artists working at the courts of both their respective native homes, Turin and Madrid. The official court painter to the House of Savoy was Jan Kraek, who was appointed in 1568 by the Duke's father, Charles-Emmanuel, and who died in Turin in 1607. The present family portrait however seems to adhere more closely to the tradition of portraiture which existed in Madrid during the late 16^th century, which was strongly influenced by the presence in the capital of Sofonisba Anguissola, but whose principal local exponent was Alonso Sánchez Coello, who died in 1588. 

The overall handling and the treatment of the drapery is certainly strongly reminiscent of the work of Sánchez Coello, although the figures are on an unusually small-scale for the artist and are depicted with a distinct but uncharacteristic naivety. One plausible explanation is that it might by the work of the artist's little-known daughter, Isabel Sánchez Coello (1563 - 1612), who trained with her father and who was hailed both by her brother Juan and Pérez de Moya as a gifted portrait painter. As often the case with women artists of this period however, few works by her hand have retained the true identity of their authorship, which makes attributions to her hand highly problematic. The present work however can be compared to a painting given to Isabel, representing a Portrait of King Phillip II and his Three Children, today in the Hispanic Society, New York¹. This portrait shares in common with the present work the depiction of the sitters on a small, intimate scale, as well as the almost miniaturist handling and distinct naivety visible in this family portrait.

¹M. Kusche, Retratos y Retratados, Alonso Sánchez Coello, Madrid 2003, p. 384, no. 343, reproduced.