Don Diego Gomez de Sandoval (c. 1578–1632) was the son of King Philip III’s chief minister, and attained the title of Count upon his marriage to the Condesa de Saldaña in 1604. In one of the only known portraits of this nobleman, de Sandoval wears etched armor that dates to around 1560, which Pantoja (or someone in his workshop) copied meticulously. The artist’s last testament recorded in October 1608 mentions an unfinished, full-length portrait of the Count of Saldaña, and the painter’s after-death inventory of the following month indicates that the portrait was still in his studio. We do not know if the painting was unfinished at that point, but nevertheless the artist signed the work himself.
This painting was once part of the vast collection of Philip, Duke of Orleans, Regent of France (1624–1723). Its inventory number from that important colletion—472—is seen beneath the table, just above the artist’s signature.
Details
- Artist Name: Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Spanish, 1551-1608)
- Title: Portrait of Don Diego Gomez de Sandoval Y Rojas, Count of Saldana
- Date: c. 1598
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 73 x 41-1/8 in. (185.4 x 104.5 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1965.1.048.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Hollingworth Magniac, Colworth, near Woburn, Bedford, England (sale, London, Christie’s, 4 July 1892, lot 124, as Philip III, King of Spain, to);
E. C. Smith, purchased (or bidding) on behalf of his brother;
Oswald Augustus Smith, by descent to his son;
Basil Guy Smith, by descent to his daughter;
Nancy Oswald Smith, Shottesbrooke Park, Maidenhead, Berkshire, England (sale, London, Christie’s, 13 February 1948, lot 39, to);
[Duveen Bros., New York, stock no. 30031, sold 1965 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Old Masters Specially Selected from the Collection of Duveen Brothers, Incorporated
- Nashvillee, Tennessee Fine Arts Center, 1962-12-15 to 1963-01-31
Masterpieces of Five Centuries, Forty-Eight Paintings and Sculptures from the Norton Simon Foundation and the Norton Simon, Inc. Museum
- Houston, Museum of Fine Arts, 1972-10-04 to 1973-11-04
Lock, Stock and Barrel: Norton Simon's Purchase of Duveen Brothers Gallery
- Norton Simon Museum, 2014-10-24 to 2015-02-16
- Young, Eric, The Connoisseur, pp. 176-185
- Notice of the principal works of art in the collection of Hollingworth Magniac, Esq . . . illustrated with photographs, 1861,
- Sanchez-Canton, F., Archivo Español de Arte, 1969, pp. 95-120
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. D41 p. 444
- Various authors, edited by Mark Rogián, Spanish Art in America, 2016, p.191 ; p. 191 (ill.)
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