Portrait of Isabella the Catholic

Juan de Flandes, a Netherlandish painter who became court artist to Isabella of Castile around 1496, created this portrait of the queen around 1500. The painting, now in the Royal Palace of Madrid, is one of the most important likenesses of Isabella the Catholic, showing her in the dignified manner appropriate to the architect of Spanish unification and patron of Columbus's voyages. The oil medium allowed for rich tonal transitions and glazed layers of color that created luminous depth impossible with the older tempera technique.

The portrait displays the refined oil technique Juan de Flandes brought from the Netherlands to Spain, with precise rendering of the queen's features, jewelry, and costume, and the subtle tonal modeling characteristic of his Franco-Flemish training.