STUDIO OF SIR PETER PAUL RUBENS (SIEGEN 1577-1640 ANTWERP)

The daughter of Philip II of Spain and Elisabeth of Valois, Isabella Clara Eugenia married her cousin, Albert, Archduke of Austria, in 1598. The couple reigned as independent sovereigns of the Spanish Netherlands from 1599 until Albert's death in 1621, when the territory reverted to the Spanish crown. On account of their childless marriage, Isabella ruled exclusively as governor on behalf of her nephew, Philip IV. As a sign of mourning following her husband's death, Isabella donned the habit of the Poor Clares and would continue to dress as a nun for the remainder of her life. All portraits painted after 1621 portray her as such.

The present picture is a studio version of the portrait that Rubens is known to have painted of Isabella in Antwerp in 1625 (see H. Vlieghe, Rubens Portraits of Identified Sitters in Antwerp, Corpus Rubenianum, Ludwig Burchard, XIX, London and New York, 1987, pp. 119-123, nos. 109-112, figs. 128-131). Van Dyck would later make his own version of the portrait (Galleria Sabauda, Turin), and a number of copies or repetitions are recorded, including the picture from the studio of van Dyck that recently came to light, formerly in the collection of King Louis-Philippe d'Orléans at Chateau d’Eu (sold Christie’s, New York, 1 May 2019, lot 245).

This lot was formerly in the collection of James Jewett Stillman (1850-1918), the founder of one of America’s great banking families, the chairman of National City Bank, which later became Citibank. He forged great links with the Rockefellers, with both of his daughters marrying members of the latter family.