The Pictorial Representation of Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain: Between Luxury and Devotion

The fame of Margaret of Austria-Styria (1584–1611) transcends her time not only as queen consort of Philip III of Spain, but also as a woman valued for all kinds of virtues. Her early death at the age of twenty-seven generated the development of an extensive laudatory literature, which elevated her as a model example for other queens of the House of Austria. Since her arrival in Spain in 1599, Margaret had a special interest in portraiture, using it as a means of maintaining contact with the various members of her family. This article presents a survey of her portrait repertoire, based on extant portraits, but also official chronicles, the descriptions of her portraits in royal inventories and the accounts of the chamber painters, which are fundamental to our knowledge of her portraits and the circumstances of her commissions. From her first images as Philip’s bride, through all her portraits as queen, to the portraits made after her death, these images highlight the originality of her representation. Margaret’s originality lies in her focus on the extreme ostentation of luxury in her clothing and jewellery, connected to the sophisticated fashion of the time. She also developed, in addition to the official portraits of the royal couple, a more private iconography, which is highly unusual in that it shows her pregnant, or in the guise of a sacred personage, with a clearly devotional character.